TUMAKURU: Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara here on Friday expressed confidence that the Metro Rail project from Bengaluru will be extended to Tumakuru as some companies have expressed interest to implement the project under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
“The Metro Rail feasibility report was submitted to the government and it will be presented before the cabinet or technical committee. Some companies have come forward to implement the project and a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be floated to run the project. The median running along the National Highway will be used, and for that permission from the Centre is required. If the sanction is not given, we will plan an alternative,” he said after taking part in the 78th Independence Day celebrations at the Mahatma Gandhi stadium here.
Metro and suburban rails are two possible transport projects between Bengaluru and Tumakuru, Kolar, Mysuru, Kanakapura and Nelamangala. The cabinet approved an allocation of Rs 25 crore for a feasibility study. He said the work on the six-lane National Highway between Bengaluru and Tumakuru is in progress and it will be converted to ten lanes.
The minister said CM Siddaramaiah, PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi and he met Union Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to discuss this project. Deputy Commissioner Subha Kalyan and Superintendent of Police Ashok KV have cleared some bottlenecks and the work will be completed by 2026, he said.
He hoped that the construction of a new international cricket stadium near Tumakuru by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) will help prevent stampedes like the one at M Chinnaswamy stadium that claimed the lives of 11.
The government has already handed over 41 acres to KSCA, but the project was delayed after the cricket association was busy battling issues related to the stampede, he said. KSCA has made a provision of Rs 160 crore for the stadium.