Telangana Cabinet approves taking over Hyderabad Metro's first phase from L&T

Hyderabad Stories published this report on 11 October 2026 as part of a review of February 2026. It was drafted with AI assistance from the reports listed at the end, each read in full; quotations are as those reports printed them. Photo above — A Hyderabad Metro train approaching Tarnaka station.

In late February 2026 the Telangana Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, approved taking over the 69-km first phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail from Larsen & Toubro, which had built and run it as a public-private partnership. The transaction was to be completed by 31 March.

The price

The state expected to pay about Rs 15,000 crore including outstanding liabilities: taking over roughly Rs 13,000 crore of debt and paying about Rs 2,000 crore to L&T. The network's valuation was estimated at Rs 19,000–22,000 crore, implying a discount of about 22 per cent.

Why

Two reasons were reported. The Union government had made it clear that Phase-II could go ahead as a Centre–state joint venture only if the whole network sat under a single entity. And L&T was unwilling to build Phase-II. Phase-IIA is planned as 76.4 km across five corridors and Phase-IIB as 86.1 km across three.

The terms were not made public. Urban policy expert Donti Narsimha Reddy asked for the basis of the valuation and questioned a Rs 800 crore loan the government had previously given L&T.

What happened next: the agreement was signed on 29 April 2026, and the deal later ran into financing delays — see our April and September reports.

Sources

• Why Telangana government is taking over Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-I from L&T — The Week, 24 February 2026