Proposal to link Metro to airport inches forward

The state government plans to link Namma Metro to the airport under Phase II(B).Sources said Bengaluru development minister K J George shared details about it with Jayant Sinha, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation.

Covering 30 km, the link is estimated to cost Rs 6,000 crore. The Metro authorities maintain Phase II will be done by 2020. There is no word yet on when Phase II(B) will be taken up or completed. The project has missed several deadlines.

The Centre recently approved 18 km of Metro Phase II(A) between Silk Board and K R Puram.

The government had not decided whether the Metro link to the airport would be implemented under Phase II or III. Sinha was in Bengaluru to discuss better connectivity to the airport in view of the fast-increasing air traffic in the city.

The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation has proposed nine routes to the airport from Nagawara, and invited public opinion to select one of them.

BMRCL Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola and Bangalore Development Authority Commissioner (BDA) Rajkumar Khatri also attended the meeting.

After the meeting, George told reporters the government would submit a proposal to the Centre soon. Sinha has assured full cooperation to execute the link, he said.

Steel flyover plea

Official sources said George also sought the Centre’s co-operation to build a steel flyover between Basaveshwara Circle and Hebbal.

The proposal has run into resistance from citizens’ groups. The flyover will improve road connectivity to the airport, he contended. He also told Sinha about plans to extend the existing railway network to the airport.

HAL airport for short-haul flights?

Minister Jayant Sinha is open to the idea of using the HAL airport in Bengaluru for short-haul commercial flights, sources said.

He said he would meet officials of Bangalore International Airport Ltd and offer the HAL airport for operations, they said.

An agreement between the BIAL and the ministry of civil aviation lays down that no other civil airport will operate within a 150-km radius of the Kempegowda airport.
The HAL airport is currently being used only for military, test, chartered and VIP flights. It is open round the clock.