President Pratibha Patil will lay the foundation of a Metro between Joka in South 24-Paragana district and BBD Bagh, the central business district of the metropolis in Kolkata, on Wednesday.

The Metro to connect large areas of neighbouring South 24-Pargana district with BBD Bagh is part of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s plan to expand the Metro network.

“The 16.72-km new stretch will help lakhs of people commute from the extreme south to the central business district,” a senior Metro Railway official said.

“The Metro Railway in Kolkata is the first underground mass rapid transit system in the country and the only one under the Ministry of Railways,” he said.

The Joka-BBD Bag project was sanctioned in 2010-11. The total estimated cost of the project, that will run overground along Diamond Harbour Road, is Rs 2,619.02 crore.

The project outlay for the year is Rs 150 crore.

The Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd entrusted with commissioning the project has completed survey and soil testing of the stretch between Joka to Majerhat through RITES.

The tendering process for this stretch has begun and the project should be completed by 2013-14.