Monorail, more Metro lines for city, says Yeddyurappa

The Karnataka government today decided to launch a monorail project and unveiled plans for Metro-II to cover more areas in a bid to further decongest the city’s roads.

The first phase of the monorail would cover 31 km, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told reporters after a meeting attended by chief secretary S V Ranganath, infrastructure development minister G Janardhana Reddy and infrastructure development secretary V Madhu. The monorail would function as feeder service to the metro-rail, and per-km cost of building monorail has been pegged at Rs 140 crore, officials said.

The first phase would run from Hebbal to J P Nagar (Bannerghatta Road) along the western portion of the outer ring road. “We had a detailed discussion on the monorail,” Yeddyurappa said. Officials said several companies have evinced interest in the monorail project and the government was expected to make a strong pitch to attract investment for it in the June 3-4 Global Investors’ Meet to be held here.

Today, the government also decided to extend Metro to Kengeri, Electronic City and Whitefield, and also link Yeshwantpur and Byappanahalli metro stations with the airport. Officials said Metro-II is expected to cost upwards of Rs 14,000 crore. The areas to be covered include J P Nagar, Banashankari, Kathriguppe, Magadi Road, Tumkur Road, Hebbal and HSR Layout.

Meanwhile, the state government has shortlisted five firms for the proposed Rs 6,900 crore, 34-km high speed rail link between the city and the Bengaluru International Airport at Devanahalli on the outskirts.

“The tender process is over,” the chief minister said.

In the proposed venture, the state would contribute Rs 532 crore by way of land, while Rs 1,040 crore is expected from the Centre, Madhu said, adding, government equity in the project would be 26 per cent. He said things such as request for proposals, detailed project report, concession agreement and manual specifications have been handed over to the short-listed firms.

Concession agreement is expected to be signed by August end with financial closure slated three months from then. Work on the project would start from February next year.