Karnataka cabinet okays Bengaluru Metro’s Phase 3A

mangaloretoday/ ndtv

Bengaluru, December 06, 2024: The Karnataka cabinet Friday approved a Rs 694 crore action plan for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to improve Bengaluru’s road infrastructure. Under the project, the government will upgrade 389 km of main and sub-arterial roads to ensure smoother traffic flow.

The project will be implemented over two fiscal years, with Rs 300 crore allocated for 2024-25 and Rs 394 crore for 2025-26.

Out of the Rs 694 crore action plan, the Mahadevapura zone is set to get Rs 140 crore for 82 km of road length, the highest among BBMP zones. Meanwhile, the Yelahanka zone is set to get Rs 97 crore for 69 km of road length, the East and RR Nagar zones will get Rs 95 crore each, and the West zone is set to get Rs 71 crore.

The move came amid growing public discontent over the deteriorating state of roads, which has led to safety concerns and increased travel times.

The Karnataka cabinet also approved the much-anticipated 36.59 km metro line connecting Sarjapur to Hebbal as part of Phase 3A of the Bengaluru metro rail project. The line which is going to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 28,405 crore consists of 22.14 km of elevated section with 17 stations and 14.45 km of underground section with one metro station.

The project will be funded under the equity-sharing joint venture model, as outlined in the Metro Rail Policy 2017. The financing plan includes securing loans from multilateral and bilateral financial institutions, facilitated by the Centre. The plan also includes using sovereign loans, among others, for funding and allocating funds for pre-construction activities such as land acquisition, utility relocation, and detailed designs. Following the state government approval, the Phase 3A project file will be sent to the Union government for final approval.

This development came months after the Centre approved Phase 3 of the metro project consisting of two corridors connecting JP Nagar 4th Phase to Kempapura (32.15km) and Hosahalli to Kadabagere (12.5km) with a total of 30 stations.