Realty firm to build private flyover to its tech park in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Real-estate firm Prestige Group is set to build a 1.5-km "private" flyover in Bengaluru, connecting its upcoming tech park in Bellandur to the Outer Ring road (ORR).

With the move, Prestige joins a select group of companies that are undertaking private projects on public land to provide access to their campuses. 

The project, which has received the BBMP's approval, will come all along the public road and mostly next to a stormwater drain (SWD). In return, the developer has offered to widen Kariyammana Agrahara Road and fully bear the flyover's cost. 

In the past, Manyata Embassy Business Park built a flyover to provide a direct access to the elevated road on the ORR while Lulu Mall constructed an underpass by taking away a portion of the public road. Similarly, it has been learnt that the Bagmane Group has proposed a 600-metre flyover to its campus in Doddanekundi.  

With a request to construct a dedicated flyover to its private campus, the Prestige Group had first approached the BBMP in August 2022 and again in November 2023. 

In its proposal, the company highlighted concerns of traffic congestion on the two main roads — Old Airport Road (via Yemalur) and Kariyammana Agrahara Road — that currently provide access to the proposed Prestige Beta Tech Park, which is expected to host over 5,000 employees.  

It's learnt that the BBMP gave its consent in April this year after taking approval of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. The civic body has insisted that the elevated road must serve public use and has also allowed the developer to claim Transferable Development Rights (TDR) certificates as compensation for the land relinquished for road-widening, provided it falls within the legal framework. 

What is notable is that the approval to construct the flyover comes almost a year after the BBMP sanctioned the building plan for tech park, which is coming up on a 70-acre plot in Bellandur. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had approved the development plan way back in September 2023. 

Typically, approvals for large tech parks are granted only after the developers demonstrate adequate access to the site. 

B S Prahallad, Technical Director of Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Ltd, confirmed the approval, but added that the civic body had imposed a condition on the developer to also fund the construction of a 40-foot-wide road. 

"The new road will reduce travel distance to Sakra Hospital Road by 2.5 km," he said, adding the civic body encourages such public-private partnerships to boost city infrastructure. 

Clement Jayakumar, a member of the Mahadevapura Task Force group, acknowledged that the flyover would help reduce congestion on surrounding roads, but urged the civic body to ensure it serves the general public. 

"Currently, the flyover lands inside the tech park, so it mainly benefits employees working there. The flyover should be designed as a public thoroughfare," he said. 

A spokesperson for the Prestige Group declined to comment on the matter.