Railway Board’s design approval an accelerator for suburban rail project

With the Railway Board’s nod for the design basis reports of the suburban rail network, Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (KRIDE) is preparing to approach multilateral agencies for loans to finance the project.

The detailed project report (DPR) shows that the 148.16-km project comprising four corridors will cost Rs 16,035.07 crore, including about Rs 1,420 crore for land acquisition.

KRIDE, the implementing agency, has decided to take up the Baiyappanahalli-Chikkabanavar line (Corridor 2) named ‘Mallige’ at a cost of about Rs 900 crore.

Last month, the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and the railway board approved the design basis report (DBR) for the suburban rail project submitted by KRIDE.

“The DBR is the overall technical document consisting of several hypotheses of the entire project, giving an overarching concept that guides the design and execution of each segment of the project, be it a viaduct, bridge or station. The approval of the DBR is a major step forward and will help propel the project.

“Preliminary works on land acquisition have been completed. We will float the tender for Corridor 2 within a week or two,” a senior KRIDE official said.

To a question on the financing of the project, the official said they hope to complete the bidding process for Corridor 2 within the next three months.

He said they have approached multilateral agencies that have been financing major projects in the city, referring to the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Asian Development Bank and other agencies.

“We have received a positive response from them (multilateral agencies). We hope to secure the loans within the next six months. However, awarding of tender doesn’t have to wait for loan agreements,” he said, suggesting that 40% of the finance by the Centre and the state will power the works.