BENGALURU: The Karnataka government is likely to drop its ambitious project of constructing 50-storeyed twin towers in Majestic area in Bengaluru. The mega project, with a cost estimation of over Rs 1500 crore, has no takers despite the government calling repeated tenders.
At present, government offices are scattered across Bengaluru, including the Multi-Storeyed Building next to Vikasa Soudha, BMTC terminus in Shanthinagar, Kendriya Sadan in Koramangala, VV Towers and other places. When BS Yediyurappa was chief minister in 2020, it was proposed to accommodate all offices in one place.
A land parcel of 8.8 acres next to Anand Rao Circle flyover in Gandhinagar (Majestic) was identified. During his budget speech, Yediyurappa had announced the twin-tower project at an estimated cost of Rs 400 crore for 25 storeys each, which was approved in the cabinet too.
A senior official said they had earlier decided to go for private-public partnership and later proposed to entrust the project to National Building Construction Corporation, a public sector undertaking. But neither worked due to technical and financial constraints.
In January this year, the cabinet approved the proposal to hire a transaction adviser for the project. Since then, the Public Works Department (PWD) called tenders thrice -- in February, June and October.
“We couldn’t get bidders the previous two times. We’re not sure if we will get this time too. If no one is participating, we may have to give up the project,’’ the official said.
Though initially planned for 25 floors each, it was later increased to 50 floors as per Floor Area Ratio (FAR). In January this year, the cabinet gave approval to opt for Transferable Development Rights (TDR). While PWD sources said the site is in a prime location with bus and Metro stations nearby, experts are also anticipating more vehicular movement.
“The existing Anand Rao flyover that touches Seshadri Road often leads to a traffic bottleneck near Freedom Park. If more offices come up, naturally there will be more cars and two-wheelers. This will worsen the problem as there are no alternative connecting roads. Some experts are in favour of dropping the project or coming up with a feasible alternative,’’ sources said.
