As the $2-billion (Rs 9,270 crore) project will be taken up on a public-private partnership basis, the government has shortlisted five companies for final bidding.
The companies are: Reliance Infrastructure and CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Company of China, Larsen & Toubro and Transco Ltd, ITD-ITD Cementation joint venture (Italian-Thai Development Public Company and ITD Cementation India Limited), Pioneer Infratech and Siemens Project Ventures Gmbh, and Lanco Infratech and OHL Concesiones of Spain.
The Bangalore Airport Rail Link Limited, a special purpose vehicle formed by the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation to implement this project, has shortlisted these five companies for final bidding, sources in the Karnataka’s Infrastructure Development Department told Deccan Herald.
“As most of the hurdles have been cleared, the government is keen to push forward the project with the completion of the final bidding process by April and signing of MoU with the private company by May or June this year,” the sources added.
Distance
The airport line metro will be a 33.65-km rail link between Bangalore City Centre and Bangalore International Airport, with four elevated stations at M G Road, Hebbal, Yelahanka and the airport.
The project will be awarded to the winner on a design-build-finance-operate-and-transfer basis. The winner will be selected through an open bidding process and will operate it for 30 years.
Once the project is completed, it will take just 25 minutes to reach the airport, with a check-in facility at Police Grounds between M G Road and Cubbon Road, and at Hebbal, where Ring Road passes through.
According to the traffic forecast by Bangalore International Airport Limited, the air traffic will be 17.2 million passengers per annum by 2010-11 and about 40 per cent of them will be using the high speed rail.
The rail link project was first cleared by the Karnataka in December 2007 and again in February 2009 at the Belgaum session of the legislature.
DH News Service