Hyderabad, Nov 27 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will lay foundation stone for Hyderabad Airport Express Metro next month. The 31-km long project will connect the information technology district Hitec City to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad. Municipal administration and Urban Development Minister K. T. Rama Rao revealed that the chief minister will lay the foundation stone on December 9. "Hyderabad is Forging Ahead. Happy to announce that Hon'ble CM KCR Garu will be laying the foundation for Airport Express Metro on 9th December," minister KTR tweeted. "This project starting at Mindspace junction to Shamshabad Airport will be 31 KM long & will be costing approximately Rs 6,250 crore," he wrote. The state government had allocated Rs 377.35 crore for the project in 2022-23 budget. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has already prepared a detailed project. The proposed high-speed Airport Express Metro will contain both elevated and underground sections. About 2.5 km of the total stretch will be underground. Once completed, the project will help commuters reach the airport in just 20 minutes. Bio-Diversity Junction, Nanakramguda, Narsingi, TS Police Academy and Rajendranagar are likely to be some of the stations on the stretch. The city already has fully operational Hyderabad Metro Rail spanning over 69 kms. The elevated Metro is operating on three corridors. The state government has urged Central Government to accord in-principle approval for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase -II Project from BHEL to Lakdikapul costing Rs 8,453 crore as a jointly owned project of Union Government and Government of Telangana State (GoTS) with external financial assistance. In a letter addressed to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, state minister KTR requested him to include the said proposal in the ensuing union budget for 2023-24. The new Metro Line is proposed to be of 26 kms long with 23 stations. To avoid delays in processing, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the project (as prepared by DMRC) and other related documents were sent to Government of India by the Telangana Government on October 27, 2022, the Minister added. The Minister said that Hyderabad is the fastest growing Metropolitan city in terms of quarterly and year on year growth of real estate sector especially since 2019-20. With the opening up of all the offices in post-COVID scenario, the need for expansion and strengthening of public transportation system needs no emphasis, he added. /IANS