Bengaluru: BMRCL will soon offer seven parcels of land abutting the stations at various places across the city to investors to build commercial establishments. BMRCL showcased this investment opportunity at Invest Karnataka 2016 as well and will be soon calling tenders in the coming months.
The seven parcels of land are located at Nagasandra (14 acres), Jalahalli (2 acres), Peenya (5 acres), Yeshwanthpur (1.5 acres), Mysore Road (6 acres), Banasankari (5 acres) and S.V. Road (2.5 acres). BMRCL took the platform of Invest Karnataka to create awareness about these investment opportunities and many firms have already shown interest.
BMRCL spokesperson Vasanth Rao told Deccan Chronicle, “The parties can participate only when the bidding is open. The revenue earned from these projects can be used to pay our debt and for further metro network expansion.” He further added, “We could also exploit the sky-space for commercial establishments.” It has been over 11 years since the metro Phase 1 construction began and there has already been a cost overrun of Rs 2,000 crore. Namma Metro is still dependent on the State Government even for its operational cost.
The metro has undergone a loss of Rs 263 crore for FY 2014-15 and Rs 83.18 crore for FY 2013-14. Considering the given scenario these projects will come in handy for the agency to clear their debts. Currently the Metro operates in five small stretches - Reach 1 (M.G. Road to Byappanahalli, 6.7km), Reach 3 (Sampige Road to Yeshwanthpur, 5.1 km), Reach 3a (Yeshwanthpur to Peenya Industry, 4.8km), Reach 3b (Peenya Industry to Nagasandra, 2.5km) and Reach 2 (Magadi Road to Mysore Road, 6.4 km).
