Knowledge City for real

Knowledge City for real
The Times of India

Bangalore: The contract for developing the 10,000-acre Knowledge City in Bidadi is expected to be awarded in a week’s time, Karnataka IT & BT secretary M N Vidyashankar told TOI on Wednesday.
Vidyashankar, who was at the opening of the IT services facility of Supervalu Inc, a $44-billion US grocery chain, said tenders have been called for building a 8-lane highway between this Knowledge City and the upcoming airport in Devanahalli.
The Rs 50,000-crore Bidadi project saw 32 bids, of which 24 were shortlisted. These include two bids by the Mukesh Ambani Group — one through Reliance Utilities and Power and the other as part of a consortium led by Bangalore-based Prestige Group — and a bid by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Energy. Other bidders include the likes of DLF, IL&FS, Gammon India and Unitech, many of them in partnership with global construction and real estate majors.
The township is expected to meet space requirements of the IT industry in Karnataka for 10 years. It will also have the capacity to house 7.5 lakh people. One of the conditions imposed on companies taking space in the city will be to mandate employees to stay in the complex. This would ensure that Bangalore does not become further congested. The township will also have hospitals, shopping malls, schools and other required amenities.
The Bidadi township is the first of the five integrated townships that the state government is planning to set up around Bangalore. The other locations are Nandagudi in Hoskote taluk, Kasaba in Ramanagaram, Solur in Magadi and Sathanooru in Kanakapura taluk.
While the government will acquire the land, the private partner in each case is expected to prepare the draft masterplan, have it approved by the government, and then finance and develop the internal infrastructure.
The total amount of land required for all five townships is 60,961 acres. Farmers are already protesting acquisition of land in Bidadi for the Knowledge City, but the government appears confident the issue will be resolved. Vidyashankar says the land for the first phase will be handed over to the private partner in April.
Location of township Bidadi (Ramanagaram taluk). — 9,684 acres Nandagudi (Hoskote taluk) — 18,507 acres Kasaba (Ramanagaram taluk) — 4,013 acres
Solur (Magadi taluk) — 12,525 acres
Sathanooru (Kanakapura taluk) — 16,232 acres