India-ADB sign $500 mn loan agreement to expand metro rail network in Bengaluru

PTI, Aug 19, 2021, 8:34 PM IST

New Delhi: The Asian Development Bank will provide USD 500 million loans to expand the metro rail network in Bengaluru with the construction of two new metro lines totalling 56 kilometres.

An agreement in this regard was signed between the Government of India and the ADB on Thursday. The signatories to an agreement for the Bengaluru Metro Rail Project were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission who signed for ADB.

The project will construct two new metro lines, mostly elevated, along Outer Ring Road and National Highway 44 between Central Silk Board and Kempegowda International Airport with 30 stations, ADB said in a release.

”This will help decongest traffic in the city area and provide seamless connectivity to the airport,” it said.

The needs of vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, women, children, and differently-abled persons, will be reflected on the metro facilities, it added.

“The project supports the urban transformation of Bengaluru city into a more livable and sustainable city through support to urban public transport and urban development with concepts of transit-oriented development (TOD) and multi-modal integration (MMI),” said Konishi.

As per the ADB, the TOD-based urban development model will target realigning growth and increase the city’s economic productivity by creating higher density, compact, mixed-use, mixed-income, safe, and resource-efficient, and inclusive neighbourhoods.

TOD also aims to raise land values along these corridors, generating capital revenues for the state government to meet the city’s long-term investment needs.

The project, it said will construct two new metro lines, mostly elevated, along Outer Ring Road and National Highway 44 between Central Silk Board and Kempegowda International Airport with 30 stations.

”This will help decongest traffic in the city area and provide seamless connectivity to the airport,” the multilateral lending agency said.

It further said that an additional USD 2 million technical assistance grant from ADB will help the state government formulate urban development plans and their implementing frameworks, focusing on TOD and multimodal integration.

The grant will also be used to strengthen the capacity of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited and other state agencies to implement these initiatives.