Bidadi township plan gets a push with developers

Bidadi township plan gets a push with developers


Jayadevan PK First Published : 01 Sep 2010 02:45:52 AM ISTLast Updated : 01 Sep 2010 11:00:32 AM IST
BANGALORE: The Bidadi integrated township project, touted as New Bangalore and estimated to cost `60,000 crore in 2007, has got a fresh lease of life.
The township is once again generating interest among realestate developers after it was shelved because of economic slowdown.
Sources in the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) said Reliance Infrastructure, Hindustan Construction Corporation, GVK, GMR, Marg and Rajesh Exports were among those keen to take the project forward.
In a bid to encourage more competition, the state government, which was supposed to open the request for qualification (RFQ) bids on Tuesday, extended the date to September 24, sources said.
"The technical advisor to the project has said it would be wise to extend the date so that other bidders can participate and bidding is more competitive," said a BMRDA official who did not want to be identified.
The source said the department has received a Request for Qualification from Reliance Infrastructure for the project.
The mega project has been planned in Bidadi, 30 kilometres from Bangalore, over 9,178 acres of land.
The project, planned with the idea to decongest Bangalore city, was awarded to Delhibased real estate player DLF in 2007.
It was shelved after DLF backed out of the project citing economic slowdown and political instability in the state. The Karnataka government revived the proposal at the last Global Investors Meet and sought investors.
The project, estimated to cost `60,000 crore in 2007, is now estimated between `70,000`80,000 crore. Officials said the increase in cost was due to increase in input costs and real estate prices.