Majestic bus station.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Bengaluru's Kempegowda Bus Station, one of the largest in India, will be redeveloped in public-private partnership, according to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The integrated bus station, which handles both intracity and inter-city services, will turn into a transport hub complete with a commercial complex, according to the state budget presented on Friday.
Officials from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) said that they did not have more information on the project to share immediately.
A BMTC official said that the corporation hadn't sent any proposal on the bus station redevelopment.
Built on what was once the dried Dharmambudhi Lake, the semi-circular bus station opened in 1969. It is popularly known as the Majestic bus station, in reference to an old cinema theatre that existed nearby.
Siddaramaiah also announced a new satellite bus station in KR Puram, East Bengaluru, that will be constructed in public-private partnership.
Mysuru will also get a state-of-the-art bus station at Bannimantap for Rs 120 crore.
In 2025-26, Karnataka's Road Transport Corporations (RTCs) will focus on inducting electric buses. A total of 14,750 new electric buses will be procured under PM e-DRIVE and PM-eBus Sewa schemes and externally aided projects. The BMTC alone will get 9,000 buses.
The RTCs will also lease 1,000 diesel buses under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, the chief minister added.
In the current financial year, the four RTCs added 2,381 diesel and 716 electric buses. The state government is also standing guarantee to the Rs 2,000-crore loan being taken by the four RTCs from financial institutions.