BENGALURU: The Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, aimed at decongesting the city’s traffic in a big way, will be ready in three years if the fresh move to implement it through an Israeli infrastructure-cum-funding agency comes through. A specialised technology will be followed in laying of roads which will ensure that the project is completed by August 2024, said a senior official of the Bangalore Development Authority, which is implementing the project.
Israeli private concern Symba Maz has come forward to fund the 73-km project with eight lanes plus four service lanes, which has now escalated to cost Rs 21,250 crore. The construction cost has also shot up to Rs 5,750 crore. “The increase in cost because of two minor additions we have incorporated in the original 65.5-km project which pushed it by an additional 7.5 km,” the official added.
An Indian joint venture, based in Bengaluru, APIC Freeway Pvt Ltd, has submitted its Expression of Interest for implementing the project. It comprises of construction firms AFCONS, STUPS Ltd and Symba Maz. “The firm has asked BDA to go ahead with its Swiss Challenge tender if it wanted to, as it was sure that it was the best bidder for the project,” the official said. Land acquisiton and calling of tenders will take up to a year while the actual construction will take two years.
The CM recently mentioned that an Israeli firm had shown interest in funding the project without specifying details. “The big plus is that unlike our past funders, Symba Maz has agreed to fund both land acquisition and construction cost. The one condition they made is that we allow them to operate it for a period of 50 years instead of the 30 years we had in mind initially,” another official said. The concern will be allowed to collect toll charges during the period as well as mobilise revenues through digital advertising, he added.
The big innovation that the JV plans to bring in is the ‘STABIROAD’ model of laying of road. They plan to deploy eight machines for the eight lanes and stress that they will be able to lay 1 km per day on each lane,” he added.