Karnataka: Action group wants Special Purpose Vehicle for elevated corridors

BENGALURU: To ensure that two much needed elevated corridors do not languish, the vision group has strongly advocated setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) as the projects have high impact and involve big spending, currently pegged at Rs 18,407 crore.

When the state government is mulling over creating an SPV for the Peripheral Ring Road, on the lines of BMRCL, why not for the elevated corridors, Bengaluru Blueprint Action Group (BBAG) member R.K. Misra asked Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George.

The implementing agency has to evolve a model to generate revenues after having planned for such a mega project crisscrossing the heart of the city. Considering the cost of land acquisition and other issues, executing the project will be a Herculean task, he said.

The agency should not depend solely on toll collection to recover the project cost or to repay the loans raised from various financial institutions. The agency can raise Viability Gap Funding (VGP) during and after the completion of the project, he said.

“Gone are the days when civic bodies or implementing agencies depended on the government for funding. They should move ahead from the tradition of looking for revenue form the government and evolve multiple revenue models to execute the project. Only support that can be looked forward to is the approval from the government,” he said.

The project should be designed to provide entry and exit ramps at various busy locations to ensure citizens have the maximum utilisation of the project and can beat the burgeoning traffic. Also, Multi Level Car Parking (MLCP) should be created at the entry and exit points for revenue generation, he said.