Good news on airport connectivity

Good news on airport connectivity
Centre Comes To Karnataka’s Rescue, To Fund And Build Two Highways
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The Centre has come to the rescue of Karnataka government to help ease traffic around the Bangalore International Airport, which will be inaugurated on March 28.
To reduce the state’s burden on infrastructure spending, the Union government will fund and build two highways around the airport. They include the 21.2-km Expressway from the Outer Ring Road to the airport and the first part of the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) connecting major highways.
The first one will run in North Bangalore areas connecting Hebbal to the airport while the second will run South of airport connecting Tumkur Road to Hosur Road. The state government had planned these roads.
“ The BMRDA and the KRDCL wanted to build the Expressway and the BDA wanted to hire private builders to take up the PRR. But now we have decided to transfer the projects to the Union surface transport ministry following its suggestion,’’ governor’s adviser S Krishna Kumar told reporters here on Tuesday. The National Highways Authority of India will implement these projects.
“The Centre expressed interest in these projects, saying it is in their mandate. The surface transport minister and secretaries held some meetings with the governor and senior state officials in the last three months. The governor’s executive committee on Tuesday approved to transfer these projects to the Centre,’’ Kumar said.
“The Centre is acting as our strategic partner. Its initiative will save us precious resources that can be used for other important projects,’’ he said.
According to him, the NHAI will work towards weaving a network of highways all around the airport. “ They are willing to build even smaller roads connecting these highways,’’ Kumar said.
The BMRDA will acquire land as per the state highway Act and hand it over to the NHAI. The Centre has promised to reimburse the cost of land acquisition to the BMRDA.
The BDA plans to take up the 110 km PRR in two phases. The first will be a 65 km North-East corridor connecting Tumkur Road to Hosur Road. The 51 km South-West corridor will be taken up in the second phase.
Land acquisition for the first phase is in the final stages. This cost will also be reimbursed.
Money matters
Governor Rameshwar Thakur’s decision will save the state Rs 2,620 crore. The PRR will cost Rs 1,600 crore and the 21.2-km Expressway will cost Rs 1,020 crore.
Expressway
Expressway is an access-controlled highway to enable superfast movement. It is a road from Challakere on outer ring road to Devanahalli via Hennur Bande
Those living in northern areas like Hebbal, Yelahanka and Chord Road can reach airport faster. It will also connect developing areas like Hennur Bande, Horamavu, Kottanur, Konnur and Bagalur. Construction and business will boom in these areas that will have unhindered access to the airport.
Peripheral Ring Road
The 106-km ring road will circumnavigate the city linking the major highways — Tumkur Road, Mysore Road, Old Madras Road and Hosur Road. The North -East corridor will decongest other surrounding roads. Travellers to Tumkur, Mysore, Madras and Hosur will benefit.
Over 3,400 km of roads to be relaid
Roads across the state are set for a major overhaul. The Karnataka State Highway Improvement Project (Kship) will re-lay 3,400 km of roads, with assistance from international funding agencies.
“The worst roads will be taken up first. We will repair and re-lay 584.5 km in the first phase, with a World Bank loan. These are 20 of the highest priority roads identified in our strategic option study,” said governor Rameshwar Thakur’s adviser S Krishna Kumar said.
The study was conducted by private consultants acting for the state. “We are talking to the ADB and JBIC. We hope to take up work on other roads if these talks succeed,’’ he said.
The roads are in Bellary, Dharwad, Haveri, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Davanagere, Mandya, Kolar, Dakshina Kannada, Tumkur, Hassan, and Belgaum districts. Hike in builders’ licence fee to stay Bangalore: It appears Bangalore builders will have to live with the sky-high fee for construction licence. Governor Rameshwar Thakur defended the BBMP’s decision on Tuesday, hinting that there would be no rollback.
“I raised the issue during the meeting. Officials have convinced me of the rise,’’ said Thakur.
“The last time the fee was revised was in 1994. The hike is justified as the BBMP needs resources,’’ said the governor’s adviser S Krishna Kumar. He also clarified that the rise was applicable only to commercial buildings and apartment complexes.
“Property prices have gone up manifold in these 13 years. But the hike has only been from Rs 10 per sqft to Rs 60 per sqft,’’ he said. “Then, the BBMP got 0.3% of the property value as fee. Now it has raised it to 2%. If the BBMP is expected to deliver the same quality of services now, it should get equal amount of resources,’’ he reasoned.