Cabinet approves second phase of Bangalore Metro project

In good news for residents of Bangalore, the Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its go-ahead to construction of the second phase of Bangalore Metro to help improve public transport in the capital city of Karnataka.

The project involves laying of about 72 km long Metro network at an estimated cost of Rs 26,405.14 crore at 2011-12 price levels with price escalation of five percent per annum.

The project is scheduled to be completed in five years from the date of start of work.

While the Centre's share will be Rs 5281 crore, Karnataka government's share will be Rs 8983 crore in the project. The balance amount will be raised through debt, an official statement said.

The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) had cleared the proposal and investment in September last year. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC), a special purpose vehicle executing the project, is jointly owned by the Centre and Karnataka government.

According to the projection of frequency of travel by the commuters, the daily ridership in the east-west line would be 4.27 lakh in 2016 and 10.07 lakh in 2041.

Similarly, in the north-south line, the daily readership was estimated at 5.51 lakh in 2016 and 10.93 lakh in 2041.