Gottigere-Nagawara metro line to get €800 million loan.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to lend €500 million to Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to execute the Gottigere-Nagawara line under Phase II of the project. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will co-finance the project along with EIB with injection of another €300 million. In total, €800 million has been borrowed for the project.

The BMRCL has already taken up construction of the elevated line between Gottigere to Dairy Circle. However, work on the 13-km underground stretch is yet to begin. The corporation has re-floated the tender for the underground project.

The first tender had been cancelled after bidders quoted exorbitant prices. The BMRCL is contemplating cutting short the underground line to bring down the cost. Instead, there will be an elevated section on either side of the original alignment.

A release from the BMRCL stated that an agreement for the first tranche of €300 million was signed between government of India and EIB on October 5, 2017 and for the second tranche of €200 million was signed on September 29, 2018. These loans are untied and have a 20-year tenure, which includes a four-year moratorium for principal repayment. In pursuance to the loan agreement, the project agreement was signed recently.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy thanked the EIB for financing the mass transit project, which will go a long way in decongesting traffic and reducing pollution levels in the city where the population has crossed 11 million.

BMRCL will require Rs. 26,405 crore for Phase II of the project to cover a stretch of 72 km, and will be borrowing Rs.12,141 crore from various agencies.

The State government has already given the green signal for extension of the line from Nagawara to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) via Hebbal.

THE HINDU