Namma Metro operations run by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL)
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the increase in the cost of Namma Metro's Phase 2 by a whopping Rs 9,729.90 crore.
Phase 2, which consists of four extensions and two new lines, will now cost Rs 40,425 crore, as against Rs 30,695.12 crore estimated earlier.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced the cabinet decision at a news briefing after the meeting.
Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had estimated the revised cost at Rs 40,614.27 crore. The cabinet discussed the proposal on December 4, 20124, but deferred a decision.
A committee of technical experts, which was constituted on February 6, 2025, to conduct a detailed examination of the proposal, submitted its report on April 29 and trimmed Rs 189.25 crore from the proposal by excluding the cost of platform screen doors (PSDs).
Only the underground stations on the Purple Line and the Infosys station on the Yellow Line will get the PSDs.
A senior BMRCL official in the know told DH that the cost of PSDs would be included in the future phases.
When Phase 2 was approved in 2014, its cost was estimated at Rs 26,405.14 crore. Three years later, Karnataka approved additional subordinate debt to meet the revised land cost of Rs 6,293.16 crore.
The cost was subsequently revised to Rs 30,695.12 crore. Higher civil work and land acquisition costs further drove up the cost.
The total length of Phase 2 increased from 72.095 km to 75.09 km because the Purple Line was extended from Kengeri to Challaghatta and the addition of a new station. The depot was also shifted from Kengeri to Challaghatta. Civil work alone cost Rs 4,408.73 crore.
Based on the revised estimation, Phase 2 will cost Rs 538.56 crore per kilometre. To put the scale into perspective, Phase 1 (42.3 km; Rs 14,133.11 cr) cost Rs 334.11 crore per km.
The construction of Phase 2 began in February 2016 with a 2020 deadline. While four extensions totalling 34.65 km have been operationalised, the two new lines (Yellow and Pink) are still under construction. The Yellow Line (19.15 km) is expected to open later this year, but the Pink Line (21.26 km) will become operational only in 2026.