Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya on Saturday wanted early completion of Hyderabad metro project and suggested local youth should get preference in employment opportunities.

Visiting some of the metro facilities, the Union Minister asked the Telangana Government to speed the completion of metro works by clearing hurdles for the land acquisition. “I wish the Metro project would be launched as early as possible and the local youth will get more employment opportunities here,” he said.

The Rs 14,500-crore Hyderabad Metro Rail project is the first project built under Public private partnership (PPP) model in the country. The project is being implemented by L&T.

“The metro mode is essential to reduce air pollution and provide affordable commuting facility for the urban people. The eco-friendly transport mode will be a boost for the ambitious Swachh Bharat mission. To get the Universal City tag, Hyderabad needs such types of projects,” he said.

“The preliminary works for Hyderabad Metro and Multi-modal Transport System (MMTS) phase-II were started when I was a minister earlier,” the Minister said.