Airport takes wings, work on link road yet to take off

Airport takes wings, work on link road yet to take off
Thursday September 6 2007 12:32 IST

Sangeetha B K

BANGALORE: The BMRDA Expressway scheduled to begin its works in September is yet to consider the consultants for the Expressway, and the entire road alignments along the path have seen five alterations before finalisation.

The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL) is now handling the BMRDA Expressway on Build- Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. The work on the Airport Expressway was proposed to begin in September.

However, the technical bids the consultants have just begun and will go on for the entire month. Talking about the developments of the Airport Expressway, official sources at KRDCL said, “The technical bids and the pre-qualification of the consultants have been notified. By this month-end the consultants will be finalised. So far, about 22 consultants from across the country have bid for the project.” Land acquisition, the most prickly problem, has already been notified and the pace of the expressway depends a lot on rehabilitation of the displaced land owners. The route alignment has been finalised and no more changes will be made, “ said M Ganesh, Chief Technical Engineer at KRDCL concerning the Airport Expressway.

The BIAL has just 15 per cent work to be completed and the commercial operation may start even before April 2008.