BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Business Corridor’s (BBC) 73-km long phase-1 already records a cost escalation of about Rs 3,500 crore, from Rs 6,800 to 7,000 crore in 2022–23 to around Rs 10,500 crore at present. The costs could escalate further as the project progresses across the full stretch.
LK Atheeq, Chairperson of BBC, previously known as the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), said the revised estimate reflects updated designs and prevailing rates. According to him, the rise is due to annual revisions in the schedule of rates over the past three years, typically increasing by 8 to 10% each year, along with significant design changes. The proposed road width has been expanded from 50 metres to 65 metres, with service roads planned on both sides, he added.
“At least eight major interchanges have been planned now, compared to just three earlier, along with several flyovers, including a five-km elevated stretch in Package 1,” Atheeq said. The addition of multiple cloverleaf interchanges at key junctions such as Doddaballapura Road, Hennur Road (near Byrathi), Whitefield and Sarjapur, along with increased elevated corridors, has also contributed to the higher cost. Phase-1 has been divided into three packages, with revised lengths of about 21 km, 20 km and 30 km.
However, the PRR Raitha Haagu Niveshanadarara Sangha (farmer groups and site owners) have raised concerns over what they describe as a steep rise in project costs.
‘Total cost of PRR Ph-1 could rise nearly 180%’
The Sangha alleged that civil construction costs have increased from around Rs 82 crore/km (100mtr road), the new tender has quietly surged to an approximate of Rs 230 crore/km (65mtr road) for the first package.
The group claimed that if current rates are applied across the entire 73-km stretch, the overall cost of the entire project could rise sharply.
It estimated that the total cost for the phase 1 could increase to nearly 180%. It also questioned the tendering process, citing the absence of final environmental clearance and a Detailed Project Report.
Atheeq, however, maintained that the cost increase is proportionate to design enhancements, and noted that it would be incorrect to term the entire project cost as escalation. “The actual increase is around Rs 3,500 crore,” he said.
