The cost of
the 73.03-km Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, the Bengaluru Business
Corridor) has been finalised at around Rs 27,000 crore with the tender
notification to be issued shortly. The
Project will commence from Tumakuru Road (NH-48) and go via Dodabballapur Road,
Bellary Road, Old Madras Road, Whitefield Road and end on Hosur Road (NH-44).”
The peripheral
Ring Road will extend to 73.03 km and come up on 2,570 acres of land. Farmers
had filed multiple litigations against the acquisition of their land with the
compensation being the major bone of contention. They demanded compensation as
per the 2013 Land Acquisition Act while the BDA was willing to pay as per the
Act that existed prior to it. The Supreme Court had given a verdict in favor of
BDA.
The 8-lane access-controlled expressway
will create a half-circle around the city and cut through the three taluks of
Bengaluru North, Bengaluru East, and Anekal. Service roads will be provided along its route (not
continuous) to provide entry and exit points, an official was quoted by media
reports.
The project
will be a public-private partnership venture on the design, build, finance,
operate and transfer model. “The concessionaire who comes forward to fund this
project will be given a 50-year lease to operate and manage it. Toll collection
and advertisement rights will be awarded to the contractor,” he said.
The state
government’s Pre-Tender Scrutiny Committee gave the Bangalore Development
Authority (BDA) the green signal for the global tendering process after
effecting a few modifications in the proposal. It has been 18 years since the
project was first proposed to decongest the city and the cost has more than
doubled since then.
“The
notification could be released by January 29.
PRR was proposed in 2007 for a length of 65.5 km. It was to come up on
1,810 acres of land and was estimated to cost Rs 11,500 crore. However, the delay due to land acquisition issues
and subsequent litigations has more than doubled the cost. “An additional 8
km has been added and it is now estimated to cost Rs 27,000 crore. The land
acquisition cost takes the lion’s share and could touch up to Rs 21,000 crore,”