CM B S Yediyurappa flags off work on metro Phase 2 underground section

The much-delayed work on the underground section of Namma Metro Phase 2 line began on Thursday, with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa flagging off the tunnel boring machine (TBM) between the proposed Cantonment and Tannery Road metro stations.

The Reach 6 line connects Gottigere in the south with Nagavara in the north. The work on the elevated section of the 21.25 km line began about two years ago. However, the 13.9 km tunnel section was delayed by more than a year as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) was forced to cancel previous bids to break contractors’ nexus, which led to overpricing.

The work was finally awarded last year by dividing the underground section into four packages. Thursday’s flag off was for the 2.88 km tunnel work between Shivaji Nagar and Tannery Road stations. Two TBMs – Urja and Vindhya – will complete the work.

The chief minister said Phase 2 was on track and will be completed by 2024 at the cost of Rs 30,695 crore.

“The project to connect Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport (Phase 2A and 2B), is awaiting Central government’s approval,” he said.

The contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has procured the TBMs from China-based company CRCHI. The consignment reached Bengaluru via Chennai in March, but work could not begin the work due to the lockdown.

Officials said L&T, which secured the contract for Package 2 (2.75 km) and Package 3 (2.88 km) in February 2019, has procured a total of four TBMs.

The tender for Package 1 between Dairy Circle and Vellara Junction (3.65 km) and Package 4 between Tannery Road and Nagawara (4.59 km) was finalised in November 2019.

“Procuring the tunnel boring machines for these two packages will take time as the contractor secured the projects recently. However, other allied works will be completed as per the work plan,” the official said.

Deadline pushed to 2024

The Gottigere-Nagawara line (Reach 6) is expected to be completed last in June 2024, a delay of two years when compared to the original schedule proposed by BMRCL.

The corporation said Yelachenahalli-Anjanapura (Reach 4) is “likely to be” commissioned in November 2020, while the Mysore Road-Kengeri is expected to become operational in February 2021. The Byappanahalli-Whitefield (Reach 1) line will take up to June 2022 will follow the Nagasandra-BIEC (Reach 3) line to become operational January 2022.