International banks want Karnataka to revive Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority

PTI, Jun 20, 2024, 8:27 PM IST

International banks funding the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP) have urged the Karnataka government to revive the Bengaluru Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA).

The suggestion came during a meeting of European Investment Bank (EIB) and KfW Development Bank with the state government officials during the K-RIDE’s project review mission to facilitate the loan for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) from June 18 to 20 at Bengaluru.

During the meeting, EIB official Angeliki Kopsacheilli noted that BSRP was EIB’s ‘most iconic urban mobility project funded in India’.

She also opined that the BMLTA should be reactivated to help BSRP attain its fullest potential.

“The idea behind reviving the nearly defunct BMLTA was to ensure that all the public transport services in Bengaluru are integrated and serve people,” an official told PTI.

The bankers specifically wanted Metro Rail, city bus service and BSRP to operate in tandem to make public transport system the best option for urban mobility.

In a statement, BSRP said Sebastian Ebert, Senior Technical Expert in Climate Finance and Mobility, KfW Development Bank, said, “BSRP will be an example of sustainable urban transportation focusing on gender sensitivity and Multi-Modal Integration (MMI).”

The KfW Development Bank and EIB officials also conducted a site inspection of the BSRP construction works at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Mathikere, Jayaram Slum Colony, and Benniganahalli Station.

The team of external funding agencies in EIB and KfW called on Karnataka Commerce & Industries and Infrastructure Minister M B Patil and briefed him about their review findings.

The Minister told them that BSRP with its vast approved network of 148 kms will be first-of-its-kind in the country and it has the potential to set benchmark for all other Suburban projects in the country.

Additional Chief Secretary Dr Shalini Rajneesh told the bankers that the BSRP will become the cornerstone of urban mobility in Bengaluru, acting as a significant catalyst for the development of suburban areas surrounding the city.