The groundwork for the metro rail projects in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad would be completed by the year-end, Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar said in New Delhi on Tuesday.

"The project report for the Bangalore metro has already been prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The project report for the Hyderabad-Secundrabad metro will be submitted on May 31," Kumar said, after taking stock of the progress of the Delhi metro project.

The Centre had already initiated talks with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on the proposed Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar link and a detailed project report would soon be prepared, he said.

The minister said in the next phase, the government would take up metro rail projects in Mumbai, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

The construction of the Bangalore project, covering approximately 33 km, is expected to start within this year, he said.

The construction cost was estimated at Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) per km for the section above ground and Rs 175 crore (Rs 1.75 billion) per km for the underground section, he added.

DMRC would provide consultancy, logistics and other necessary help to all the metro projects, Kumar said.

The urban development ministry is bearing 40 per cent of the total cost of the project reports worth Rs 2-3 crore (Rs 20-30 million), he said.

Lauding the pace at which the Delhi metro rail project progressed, he said with the completion of a stretch of 65 km by September 2005, the Delhi metro would carry around 22 lakh (2.2 million) passengers per day.

Kumar said funds would not be a constraint till September 2005 since DMRC had tied-up funds worth Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion).