Venkaiah asks BMRCL to prioritise Metro link to ORR

Union Minister of Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu held a review meeting on Namma Metro on Sunday and instructed the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) to prioritise the 18-km-long Phase 2A which will connect the Central Silk Board junction with KR Puram via the Outer Ring Road.

He also laid stress on providing Metro connectivity to the Kempegowda International Airport and asked the state government to send a proposal on cost-sharing for the 72.09-km-long Phase 2, Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department, who was present at the meeting, told DH.

BMRCL officials gave Naidu a presentation on Phase 1, which is expected to be fully operational by April. They said that the Central government had released its full share of Rs 3,073 crore and the state government Rs 5,082 crore for the 42.3-km-long Phase 1. Phase 2 is estimated to cost Rs 26,405 crore. The French Development Agency (AFD) has sanctioned a loan of Rs 1,400 crore while the European Investment Bank has given in-principle approval to lend Rs 3,500 crore, the BMRCL told Naidu.

The Central government has allocated Rs 1,400 crore for Namma Metro for the 2017-18 financial year. The state government plans to go for innovative funding to build Phase 2A which is estimated to cost Rs 4,200 crore. On the airport line, BMRCL officials said the state government was considering a feasibility report on various routes. The Centre needs to decide which line should be prioritised, the officials said, according to Jain.