Bengaluru Development Minister K J George on Friday said that the route for providing Metro link to the Kempegowda International Airport has been finalised with most of the line running parallel to the airport road.
Replying to a query on the sidelines of the BDA review meeting, George said the government has “finalised Nagawara-Ramakrishna Hegde Nagar-Jakkur-Yelahanka route to the airport”.
An officer said the airport link will be an extension of the 21.25-km Gottigere-Nagawara line to be built under Phase 2. “From Nagawara, the line will pass on Thanisandra road till Hegde Nagar, where it will turn left and pass through Jakkur. The line will meet the airport road near University of Agricultural Sciences and continue along the right side of the road. At the trumpet flyover, the line will turn right and reach the airport,” he said.
“The Metro line will run on the right side of the airport road (NH44) and enter the airport near its present entrance,” he said. The government already has five-metre-wide land along the airport road, which will help speed up the project, besides making it cost-effective, the officer added.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation has set 2020 as the deadline for Phase 2, which includes the Gottigere-Nagawara line, which is a prerequisite for providing Metro service to the airport.
The finalised airport line requires more studies before preparing the detailed project report. A source said the minister will make a detailed announcement soon.
Another source said that Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda wanted the lines that passed through Kannur and Bagalur to connect the IT and hardware industries.
“It was later decided that a parallel line may be provided in future to boost connectivity to the IT and hardware sector,” the source added.