Proposed Bengaluru Skydeck project
Credit: Special arrangement
Bengaluru: The 250-metre-tall skydeck — proposed to boost tourism in Bengaluru — has finally found a home.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has zeroed in on a 30-acre land parcel in Kommaghatta, located across the NICE Road and behind the Kengeri Satellite Club.
The large vacant land — surrounded by residential areas and a lake — reportedly belongs to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB).
It is learnt that Shivakumar recently inspected the site and directed officials to expedite the formalities required to take possession of the land. This suggests that the deputy chief minister was not satisfied with the location within Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout, which he had almost finalised last month.
Compared to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) land, the KIADB property offers better connectivity, but it remains unclear why the BDA site was ultimately dropped.
A senior IAS officer confirmed that Shivakumar had visited the Kommaghatta site to assess the feasibility of constructing what is expected to be not just Bengaluru’s but South India’s tallest tower, offering a panoramic view of the city from the top-most level.
It’s learnt that the responsibility of developing the project, estimated to cost Rs 500 crore, may be assigned to Bangalore Smart Infrastructure Ltd (B. SMILE) from the BBMP.
In addition to the KIADB and the BDA, the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) also owns several acres of undeveloped land starting from the Mysuru Road cloverleaf junction. However, development on the NICE land has been stalled, as the Supreme Court had ruled that the project proponents cannot deviate from the original Framework Agreement without the state government’s approval.
Earlier, the BBMP had shortlisted several other sites for the sky deck project, including the NGEF property in Baiyappanahalli, a KIADB land parcel in Hemmigepura and Bangalore University’s Jnanabharathi campus, a search drive that went on for six months. These locations were eventually ruled out due to various factors, including air traffic restrictions.