Many road projects to follow Electronic City model

Many road projects to follow Electronic City model
Times of India

Bangalore: With Bangalore’s technocrats extending Rs 100 crore — 25 per cent of the project cost — towards the nine km flyover on stilts connecting Hosur Road and Electronic City, the Centre is looking to replicate this flagship privatepublic partnership in other infrastructure projects.

Union surface transport state minister K.H. Muniyappa told reporters here on Tuesday: “We are looking for private partners in other infrastructure projects also. We aim to replicate the success of Karnataka’s Electronic City model in the rest of the state and the country.’’

The first such project being taken up on the same model is the Rs 200 crore elevated four-lane Nelamangala-Bangalore stretch. “We have approached Jindal, Himalaya Drug Company and the Peenya Industries Association (PIA) to contribute towards the project cost,’’ Muniyappa said.

The Electronic City model project is proceeding at full speed. Sticking to the deadlines announced by his senior, Union surface transport minister T.R. Baalu in September, Muniyappa said the detailed project report will be submitted in March and work will begin on April 2. “We have appointed a project director, while a special purpose vehicle will be set up to implement the project,’’ he added.

After reviewing all other central road projects in Karnataka, Muniyappa said, detailed project reports for Bangalore-Nelamangala, Nelamangala-Hassan, K.R. Puram-Mulbagal are being prepared. Work on the Avathi-Bagepalli (NH7) 60 km stretch will be completed in January, while bids have been invited for the 150 km Panaji-Belgaum Road, 84 km of which is in Karnataka.

On the prestigious Golden Quadrilateral project, Muniyappa admitted that this flagship of the Vajpayee government project had been delayed a full year, due to land acquisition problems. “Still, of the Rs 34,300 crore project, Rs 27,000 crore has already been released. By December 2005, we should finish the remaining 2,662 km of the total 5,846 km in 13 states,’’ he said.

For the Rs 37,000 crore North-South and East-West corridors with a total length of 7,274 km in 17 states, Muniyappa said the detailed project reports had been cleared. The completion date for these two is the end of 2007.