Bosch in talks with Metro for direct access to Lakkasandra station

German engineering and technology company Bosch has offered Rs 50 crore to BMRCL to access the Lakkasandra metro station.

The fund will include building an underground walkway to the station from its campus.

Bosch is expected to join Infosys, Biocon, Intel and Embassy to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BMRCL to either fund building a metro station closer to their campus or paying an access fees for direct connectivity from their campus.

Partnering with major corporate houses is one way the BMRCL is funding cost-intensive metro projects.

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BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parvez confirmed with DH that Bosch has sought approval to get access to the Lakkasandra metro station, which is part of the Gottigere-Nagawara metro line along Bannerghatta Road.

The station is located closer to the corporate headquarters of the German conglomerate, which employs around 10,000 employees, and the workforce is expected to increase to around 25,000 by 2025.

Metro authorities estimate the cost of building the walkway from the Lakkasandra station’s concourse area to the Bosch premises as Rs 40 crore. The remaining Rs 10 crore is for allowing direct connectivity, it is learnt.

The access rights is for a period of 30 years from the date when the station begins commercial operations, while the ownership of the walkway and access to the station will remain with the BMRCL.

It is learnt that a formal MoU between Bosch and BMRCL will be signed with consent from the high-powered committee authorised to approve innovative financing schemes of the metro stations.

Shakambhari Thakur, Head of Corporate Communications at Bosch India, said that the multinational had paid the BMRCL Rs 10 crore as royalty for securing a direct access to the metro station. She added that discussions were still ongoing on the final cost, which would include the cost of constructing the walkway. While the BMRCL estimates that the construction of the underground walkway would cost Rs 40 crore, the German company says that the cost could be lower.

Thakur also disputed projections that the workforce on the Bosch campus would rise to 25,000 in three years' time, as stated by the BMRCL in a report to the state government.