Cost of metro phase II: Rs 18,000 cr

The second phase of Bangalore Metro will have a distance of 80 km and the cost is likely to be around Rs 18,000 crore. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is presently awaiting the submission of a detailed project report (DPR) from its consultant, a top BMRCL official said.

“The DPR for the second phase of Bangalore Metro is presently under preparation by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRCL). They are expected to submit the report in the next two months. Once the government accepts the report, a decision will be taken on when to start the work,” N Sivasailam, managing director, BMRCL told Business Standard.

He said, the BMRCL, as part of the second phase, is planning to take up the work between Byappanahalli, and Electronics City and Whitefield. These two lines are the busiest routes presently and connect the city centre with the IT hubs.

“The draft of the detailed project report under preparation by DMRCL is almost ready and they are waiting for some technical issues to be addressed like alignment at Whitefield. Once that is sorted out, the report will be submitted to the government,” he said.

Presently, the BMRCL is implementing the 42.5 km-long phase-1. The first reach, between Byappanahalli and Cricket Stadium on M G Road, will be completed by December 20, 2010, and it is left to both the Centre and state governments to decide the date of its launch, he said.

Earlier, addressing members of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), Sivasailam said the entire project, with two lines, will be completed by March 2013.

The work on the underground tunnel on the underground section 2 will commence by January. The project implementing agency, the consortium of CEC and Soma, is presently waiting for the arrival of tunnel boring machines from Hitachi of Japan. The machine is under shipment and will arrive in Bangalore by the end of December, he said.

The rail coaches, being imported by BEML Limited from Korea, will arrive by November and the trials will commence towards the end of November, he said, adding that the BMRCL will carry out at least 110 trials per day to complete 10,000 kms of running before launching the commercial service.

Commenting on the pricing of the services, Sivasailam said the fares would be approximately Rs 10-15 per passenger per side, which is on a par with that of Delhi Metro.