Tirupati: The long-awaited Intermodal Bus Station Project here has gained fresh attention with the National Highways Logistics Management Ltd (NHLML) conducting an on-site inspection on Sunday. The facility is proposed to be jointly managed by this firm and NHAI.
The company’s CEO Prakash Gaur and project director Pooja Mishra, accompanied by Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumurthy, participated in a review meeting at the central bus stand and inspected the premises to take matters forward.
The station is to be erected on a 13-acre centrally located site. The aim is to reduce road congestion by integrating various transit modes at a single hub. The facility will include a passenger terminal, bus terminal, car and two-wheeler parking, a helipad, and a ropeway.
This visit comes two weeks after the MP met Union roads minister Nitin Gadkari and pleaded for action on this front. Gadkari confirmed that the tendering process would be completed by next month and the works would start thereafter, the MP said.
Proposed by the central government, the project has been stuck for the last two years due to objections from the municipal corporation’s town planning department, regarding the number of floors that can be allowed in the new complex.
Initially planned as a 15-storey building, the design has been adjusted to 11 floors to address these concerns.
“All approvals were obtained during the YSRC government’s term, but the construction process was halted due to changes in the design and implementation of the poll code,” Gurumurthy told Deccan Chronicle.
The project’s additional features are retail zones, a food court, a hotel, passenger lounge, devotee counters, medical facility, baby care rooms, ATMs and an EV-charging station,” the MP explained.
He noted that the current bus stand is overcrowded and serves an average of 1,80,000 passengers and hosts over 4,000 buses daily. With Tirupati's ever-increasing pilgrim footfall, the existing infrastructure is bursting at the seams.
A foot over-bridge and sky walk will connect the central bus stand to the railway station, enhancing inter-modal connectivity, Gurumurthy said.
The facility will be managed by the NHAI in collaboration with NHLML. An MoU had been signed on August 18, 2022 between NHLML and the AP state road transport corporation for joint development of the station.
