THE news that the Birmingham city centre extension of Midland Metro is to go ahead has been greeted as ‘fantastic news’ by the chief executive of Centro.
The Chancellor has told MPs that the scheme is to continue following the Public Spending Review.
The £127.1 million joint project by Centro, Black Country and Birmingham City councils is expected to boost the West Midlands economy by £50 million a year and create up to 1,300 sustainable new jobs, according to Centro.
When completed, it will allow trams from Wolverhampton to continue from their present terminus at Birmingham Snow Hill station and run via Corporation Street to New Street station.
Centro chief executive Geoff Inskip said: “This is fantastic news for Birmingham and the Black Country as it puts us on the way towards creating a truly world class public transport system for the West Midlands.
“This Metro extension is exactly what the Government wants to see from transport schemes, underpinning regeneration, boosting the economy and creating jobs.
“We intend to waste no time in pressing ahead with this exciting scheme so we can unlock those jobs and economic benefits as soon as possible. We plan to have the project completed to coincide with the opening of the New Street Gateway project at the end of 2014.”