A white elephant without connectivity: Biocon chief on new stadium

Bengaluru: Industrialist and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has raised concerns about the state government's plan to build an 80,000-seater international cricket stadium near Anekal in southern Bengaluru.

"Unless there is good road and metro connectivity, it will be a white elephant," she wrote on X, responding to reports that the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) has invited tenders for the New Bengaluru International Cricket Stadium at Suryanagar 4th Phase.

"Please build connectivity before the stadium," she wrote, adding that the metro currently "ends far short of Anekal" and that the area's road infrastructure is "primitive".

The stadium, estimated to cost Rs 943 crore, is intended to ease pressure on the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the Central Business District (CBD), which has long struggled with capacity and congestion.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has conducted a feasibility study on expanding its largest proposed corridor with a branch line to connect the stadium. The government has asked it to add a 4-km spur line to the 68-km Kalena Agrahara-Kadugodi Tree Park metro corridor planned under Phase 4.

"The spur line will branch off after Jigani towards Anekal. It will allow people coming from Bannerghatta and Anekal to reach the stadium directly," a BMRCL official said.

DH was the first to report the development in October 2025.

The proposal remains far from breaking ground.

The BMRCL has submitted the feasibility report to the government and will prepare the detailed project report if further approvals come through. Construction may begin by 2029 and take up to 10 years.

Three access points

Real estate expert Pruthvin Reddy from Anekal said the stadium had been proposed with three access points. Two of the roads are narrow; the third is a proposed six-lane stretch under the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR).

Reddy said the stadium announcement had already driven up real estate prices. "The KHB will be able to sell its sites in Surya Nagar 4th Phase for a premium," he said, adding that overall infrastructure in the area is still catching up.