BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lay the foundation stone for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail project within the next three months.
Briefing newspersons after travelling by an Inspection Special train from Bengaluru Cantonment station to Heelalige station to inspect two doubling projects and the Suburban Rail Project, the CM also said that the Centre had given the green signal to go in for external borrowings to the tune of Rs 7,400 crore for the Rs 15767 crore project.
The project is being implemented by K-RIDE (Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Enterprises), a special purpose vehicle jointly set up by the state and Centre. Both will share 20 percent each of the project cost and the rest would be through borrowings.
Infrastructure Development Department Principal Secretary Kapil Mohan, who was present at the inspection said, "The proposal for the borrowings was made by K-RIDE, state government and Railway Ministry."
The CM also reiterated that the Baiyappanahalli to Chikkabanavar corridor and the Heelalige to Rajanakunte corridors would be taken up first for implementation in the suburban project. The doubling projects between Baiyappanahalli and Hosur as well as Yesvantpur and Channasandra would be completed by December 2023, the CM said.
Amit Garg, MD, K-RIDE, briefed the CM during the train journey about the proposed extensions for the Suburban Rail Project in the next phase: Kengeri- Ramanagaram; Chikkabanavar-Tumukuru; Rajanakunte-Doddaballapur; Whitefield-Bangarpet & Heelalige-Devanahalli.