DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit | Growth a challenge or opportunity? Build infrastructure to match Bengaluru’s ambition, say experts

The experts laid out competing and complementary visions for the city’s next phase.

Bengaluru: Rapid urbanisation is inevitable and Bengaluru must view its growth as an opportunity but only if it invests aggressively not just in physical infrastructure but social and cultural, speakers said at the DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit on Friday.

Participating in a panel discussion on a “Framework for Bengaluru’s Future Infrastructure”, Mallanna Sasalu, CEO (South), Puravankara Limited, M Maheshwar Rao, Chief Commissioner, GBA, and urban affairs expert Ashwin Mahesh laid out competing and complementary visions for the city’s next phase.

Mallanna said Bengaluru’s expansion has historically followed infrastructure and job creation patterns. “Urbanisation is happening across the country, and Bengaluru has attracted great talent. Jobs were created first in South-East Bengaluru when the HAL airport was operational. Development began around Wind Tunnel Road and then spread to the Outer Ring Road,” he said.

After the airport shifted north, growth corridors moved accordingly, aided by industrial townships, including the hardware and aerospace parks. “The Metro expansion is an equaliser for the city,” he said, adding that while cars are being added every day, growth must be seen as an opportunity. “We must build infrastructure to support growth.”

Maheshwar Rao admitted that the city has often been “playing catch-up”. Housing infrastructure, he noted, has largely been driven by market forces, raising questions about whether that trend has been beneficial or detrimental to balanced growth.

“Bengaluru’s road coverage stands at just 9% of total land area, compared to the national average of 15%. With the city’s population projected to grow by five million over the next decade,” Maheshwar Rao said, adding investment in both road networks and mass transit is unavoidable. “Unless we address these solutions holistically, we cannot achieve a liveable city,” he said.

He stressed that public transport expansion is critical. With the Metro network expected to expand to 175 km, significant relief is anticipated. “When three additional trains were introduced on the Yellow Line, congestion reduced by nearly 30%,” he said, adding that BMTC is inducting 2,000 new buses to strengthen connectivity.

On the economics of public transport, Mallanna pointed out that Metro systems are rarely profitable in isolation but generate long-term dividends. Drawing a parallel with China’s high-speed rail network, which took over a decade to turn viable but transformed economic growth, he argued that public infrastructure cannot be judged purely on immediate financial returns. “Private players can only play a limited role in public infrastructure,” he added.

Ashwin Mahesh broadened the debate beyond transport. He said Bengaluru is facing not just a shortage of affordable housing but also of schools and hospitals. “The supply side must be addressed through planning. The city needs a system-wide approach, not band-aid solutions,” he said.

He cautioned against deepening inequalities, noting that even middle-income families are increasingly unable to buy or rent homes within the city. “We are not moving fast enough on low-income housing policy,” he said, adding that planning must account for the full distribution of residents struggling to live in the city.

Maheshwar Rao also reflected on infrastructure gaps within the city’s core areas, which took nearly 15 years to address. “Now, complaints are emerging from the outskirts,” he said, stating that projects such as the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) and the proposed Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) will bridge the gaps. 

Ashwin Mahesh pointed to the Tender SURE road model as proof that the city knows what works. “It has been nearly a decade since Tender SURE roads were built. They have worked well, but the model has not been expanded at scale. We are moving too slowly,” he said.