JOIN USThe State Government has shortlisted eight firms for the Rs 1,300-crore Integrated Mass Transport System (IMTS) project proposed on a public-private partnership (PPP) model at Majestic in the City.
Briefing reporters here, State Transport Minister R Ashoka said the State would float the request for proposal (RFP) for the shortlisted firms including companies like Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Gammon India, Soma and Reliance in a week.
The project envisages linking of all forms of transport –– the BMTC, KSRTC, Metro and the Railways –– besides creating parking space for more than 3,000 cars near the City railway station.
Ashoka said the State’s contribution in the PPP model project would be just the land and one of the eight selected companies would have to invest the capital for creating the infrastructure.
While the BMTC, KSRTC and Metro would also hold their stations/offices at the facility, BMRCL Chairman Sivasailam said his organisation would create a separate parking facility that can accommodate more than 3,000 cars.
Ashoka said work to construct the 45-storeyed integrated system at Majestic would begin by December this year.
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) Managing Director Syed Zameer Pasha said the construction could only begin after the completion of the work on the Metro.
No workspace available
About 20 acres of land belonging to the Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has been allotted to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) at Majestic for its underground station, as there is no workspace available in the area now.
Stating that the existing structure would be demolished to make way for a new, modern structure, KSRTC Managing Director Gaurav Gupta said: “The 45-storey building (that Ashoka had spoken about earlier) is an artistic impression. We will have to see how the new structure can come up once one of the companies is finalised.”
State plea to Bavaria
The State government, on Tuesday, urged Bavaria, the largest state in Germany, to share technologies pertaining to electricity generation from garbage and waste water management among other things.
Briefing reporters here Home and Transport Minister Ashoka said: “We are looking at technologies using which we can generate electricity from garbage and also better ways of managing our water,” adding that Karnataka was also looking at co-operation in the fields of transport, infrastructure and civil aviation.
Stating that many Bavarian companies had already set up shop in Bangalore and that the firms had the expertise in the aforementioned subjects, a representative from the 40-member Bavarian delegation urged for more co-operation in academics inviting more students from India to visit Germany.