Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, DH file Photo.
The state government is reviving an ambitious elevated road corridor project in Bengaluru that was shelved five years ago after it was found financially unviable: It is likely to take up the project by introducing toll.
Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) has decided to recommend to the government to take up the project either by introducing Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), commonly known as e-tolling, or under annuity model under public private partnership basis. These recommendations are part of project pre-feasibility report that the corporation will soon submit to the government.
ERP uses R technology to automatically deduct toll charges on vehicles passing through sensors. The other probable model is annuity, where the government makes payments to a private party in installments over a long period, without toll. These two options figure in a draft of the detailed pre-feasibility report that American engineering firm AECOM has prepared. “The draft will be sent to the government. It is up to the government to decide the best PPP model,” KRDCL managing director K S Krishna Reddy told this paper.
The project envisages construction of 109-km elevated road corridor, pegged to cost Rs 18,000 crore. Elevated roads will connect Central Silk Board to Hebbal, K R Puram to Goraguntepalya and Jnanabharathi to Varthur Kodi, promising a 45-minute ride from one end to the other in the city.
In 2012, the project was "dropped due to non-feasibility under PPP”, according to the Infrastructure Development Department’s online projects database. The Bangalore Development Authority was the nodal agency to implement the project in 2012 and it had roped in CRISIL Risk and Infrastructure Solutions Ltd for pre-feasibility studies.
“Since it is a big corridor, it required huge cost. That’s why the project was not taken up,” BDA engineer-member P N Nayak said. The project was also showcased at 2012 Global Investors Meet that year, but there were no takers for it. Subsequently, it was part of the 2015 Invest Karnataka summit.
“There’s no harm in trying to revive a project that will benefit public,” said R Jaiprasad, director at KRDC. “The project will be a boon for Bengaluru, considering the number of vehicles being added on the roads.” According to him, levying a toll is inevitable.
According to sources, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is keen on implementing the project, whose revival first figured in his 2016-17 budget speech. The government’s attempt to revive another project born during the BJP government — the steel flyover — flopped due to severe public backlash.
While the project has received support from the likes of Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and urban expert R K Misra, BBMP Restructuring Committee member V Ravichandar wondered why the government was pursuing an unviable project.