BENGALURU: Namma Metro is set to have its own ‘Metro Bhavana’ in front of the Swami Vivekananda Road Metro station. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has invited architects to submit their designs for the proposed hi-tech six-storeyed building.
BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola told Express that the commissioning of the full Phase-I and commencement of work relating to Phase-II have resulted in a huge increase in its workforce, creating the need for a bigger and separate office. BMRCL presently functions from the third floor of the BMTC Complex in Shantinagar while its land acquisition office is near Gate 10 of the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“The Metro Bhavana is expected to cost between `30 crore and `40 crore. Having a control facility along the Metro line itself will help us enormously,” Kharola said. “It will come up on one acre here. It will be a hi-tech one and architects have been invited to send their designs,” he added.The recently advertised tender has called for Design Consultancy Services for the construction. The cost allocated for the design services is ` 1.4 crore.
The building will come up on the space earmarked for parking at SV Road Metro station. When completed, parking facility will be provided at the basement or the ground floor.
The land acquisition office will also be shifted to SV Road in future, thereby ensuring better coordination among departments.
Asked about the impact of relocating from a central place like Shantinagar, he said, “Those planning to visit our new office can come by a Metro train. It will just be an 8-minute trip from Vidhana Soudha Metro station.”
This will be the third office that BMRCL, since its inception, will occupy. It began from a modest office off Bhagwan Mahaveer Road, then moved to Shantinagar and will now head to SV Road.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd and Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd already have their own separate Bhavans.