To speed up work on construction of the Whitefield Metro corridor, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has decided take up civil work in two packages. On Tuesday, BMRCL floated a tender for the construction of elevated structures from ‘Baiyappanahalli station (excluding) to Visvesvaraya Industrial Area Station (including)’. The 8.03-km corridor will consist of six elevated stations - Jyothipuram, KR Puram, Mahadevapura, Garudacharpalya, Doddanekkundi Industrial Area and Visvesvaraya Industrial Area. The package is estimated to cost Rs 670.72 crore.
BMRCL has called for two separate tenders at a total estimated cost of Rs 1,336.82 crore. The expected time of completion is 27 months from the date of awarding work order. The BMRCL has named the line from Baiyappanahalli station to Visvesvaraya Industrial Area station as Reach - 1 (A) while the stretch from Kundalahalli to Whitefield is termed Reach - 1 (B).
On December 1, BMRCL had floated a separate tender for the “construction of elevated structures (viaduct) and stations from Visvesvaraya Industrial Area Station (excluding) to Whitefield Station (including).’’ The 7.21-km stretch consists of seven elevated stations - Kundanahalli, Vydehi Hospital, Sri Satya Sai Hospital, ITPL, Kadugodi, Ujwala Vidyalaya and Whitefield at an estimated to cost Rs 666.12 crore.
This time, BMRCL has not waited for the completion of the tedious land acquisition process to call for tenders. “The tender process, which involves selection of contractor to undertake construction work takes a minimum of four to five months. In the meantime, we will take the required land into our possession. We hope to start work by mid-2017,” a BMRCL official told DH.
Another challenge ahead for the BMRCL is to mobilise funds for the Whitefield project in the next two to three years. Other than the contribution from state and Central governments, the BMRCL has received Rs 1,504 crore as long-term loan from Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency) for Namma Metro Phase-II project. Under its second phase, the corporation has already taken up civil work on Mysuru Road-Kengeri and Yelachenahalli-Kanakapura Road.
BMRCL has also approached several financial institutions, including Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, a German government-owned development bank. Negotiations are also on with Japan International Cooperation Agency, Asian Development Bank, European Investment Bank, the tender document stated.