Rajasthan capital Jaipur would be the first city in India to get a monorail.

The state government has issued the letter of intent to a Malaysian company MRails International for setting up the monorail project to be executed under build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.

MRails president Jeya Kumar and other company officials officials met chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state urban development minister Shanti Dhariwal on here on Saturday.

The state government will give the corridors where it wants the monorail. After this, the company will submit the Detailed Project Report (DPR). “A team of experts will be here by mid-January and we will submit the DPR in 90 days,” said Kumar.

Former Congress MLA CS Baid, who has been coordinating the monorail project with the Rajasthan government, said he has been asked by the AICC to make a presentation on the project to Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s team.

The total cost and duration of the project will depend on the length of the route. “The cost per km is between Rs 50 crore to Rs 80 crore and we can build 50 km in 2 years,” said Kumar. He said the company is targeting to attract 25 per cent of the people using public transport.

Asked how the company would earn revenue since they were not taking any financial help from the government, Kumar said they would earn from sale of tickets, advertisements and hoardings, food courts on the stations and corridor development. The company has also asked for a guarantee from the government that the corridors of the monorail and the metro will not overlap.

The train has a hybrid engine and will use LNG for the start-up torque. Once it gains momentum, it will charge the battery. The AC and lighting will be done through solar power.

A Rajasthan government delegation will visit the MRail’s manufacturing plant in Penang, about 400 km from Kuala Lumpur, to be held on January 23 next year and also see the functioning of the monorail.

Monorail, a mode of transport based on a single rail on an elevated corridor, is a cheaper and a lighter alternative to the metro. Since the pillars supporting the monorail are narrow and sleek, it is ideal for congested and narrow areas.