Bengaluru Peripheral ring road to take off soon

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,”