EIB & AIIB in Talks with BMRCL for Funding Bangalore’s Phase 2
The potential sources of the remaining funds required to build the Rs. 26,405 crore Bangalore Metro Phase 2 project are now known. Yesterday, the BMRCL’s MD Pradeep Singh Kharola revealed they’re in talks with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and have received an ‘in-principle’ commitment for lending roughly Rs. 3600 crores each towards the BMRCL’s Phase 2 loan requirement of roughly Rs. 12000 crores.
This is something the BMRCL has struggled with obtaining since the project’s final approval in January 2014, and has led to severe delays in the tendering stage even before the start of construction for a bulk of its new network.
No further details or loan parameters (rate, term period) have been given out, but it is expected that the proceeds from these two loans will be utilized for constructing the new 21.25 km Gottigere – Nagawara line (Reach 6) of which a 13.79 km section, from Dairy Circle to Nagawara, will be built underground. Besides that, the funds are expected to be used for procuring important technical systems for both new lines (the other one is the 18.80 km RV Road – Bommasandra line) such as rolling stock, SCADA & CBTC signalling system, telecommunication system, electrification system, automatic fare collection system (AFC), elevators & escalators and possibly platform screen doors (PSDs).
Phase 1 (42.30 km) | Phase 2 (72.10 km)
Map of Bangalore Metro’s Phase 2 (Blue) – view information & map
So far, the BMRCL has inked only one loan deal with France’s Agence Francaise De Développement (AFD) for Rs. 1500 crore (€200 mn), and has reached an agreement with Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) for another roughly Rs. 3500 crore deal which is expected to be signed into an agreement by the Union Finance Ministry this year. The proceeds from KfW loan’s will be utilized towards the construction of the 15.257 km Baiyappanahalli – Whitefield extension of the Purple Line and the 18.80 km RV Road – Bommasandra line (Reach 5) for which the BMRCL received permission from the KfW to invite bids in December 2016.
Whenever the BMRCL invites bids for the Gottigere – Nagawara line (Reach 6) and any technical system of Phase 2, that’ll be a good sign of the BMRCL concluding its new loan deals to finally achieve financial closure of the project.
For more updates, check out the Bangalore section of The Metro Rail Guy!
– TMRG
If Phase 1 was completed on time and 6-7 lakhs people using it then getting funds for Phase 2 would have been very easy.
It is very difficult to convince investors when project is heavily delayed and involve high cost over run.
Investors feel money is more secure only when project is finished on time and with in the budget.
According to me this was expected.
Road-cum-rail bridge to ease Silk Board Junction congestion – Rs 900-crore project
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/591234/road-cum-rail-bridge-ease.html
Road-cum-rail bridge to ease Silk Board Junction congestion (Rs 900-crore project)
Source : http://www.deccanherald.com/content/591234/road-cum-rail-bridge-ease.html
Wasn’t the CPRO on twitter last year saying they had all funding in place and will draw money when they feel it is necessary? lol
Metro North-South corridor trials by February 10
————————————–
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/Metro-North-South-corridor-trials-by-February-10/article17033424.ece
Good news!
Hope they speed up the process and start some work on the Bommasandra and Whitefield lines. If they wake up and ‘hurry’ to start working on these lines ASAP at least phase 2 can be on schedule (not the 2020 deadline, of course but at least 2022). The situation is quite desperate for Bengaluru and this cannot be over emphasized.
The IT corridor will be the last.
No one can even talking about Silk Board to KR puram link metro.
First we need a railway line from Bangalore Centre/South/East/West to Airport.
As per today’s news paper they may open HAL airport for short distance.
Source:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/591428/proposal-link-metro-airport-inches.html
It is actually common sense.No one want to spend 1 to 2 hrs traveling to airport and another 2 hrs for security checkup and other formalities ( total 3 to 4 hours ) for a short distance flight say Chennai and other near by places.
Also the cost of Air ticket will be 2-3k but the cost of reaching airport 1 to 1.5k.
Traveling to KIA , once feels like going to another city.
Short loop service makes your trip easy – NEWS9
source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_offQK-4TlY
BMRCL is running trains which don’t go end to end
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/Suresh-Prabhu-to-sign-MoU-for-suburban-rail-on-monday/article17040252.ece
The long-pending demand for a suburban train system in Bengaluru will take baby steps with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Government and the Ministry of Railways on Monday.
Mr. Prabhu is also scheduled to signal the start of the Rs. 130 crore project for the expansion of the Baiyappanahalli Railway Station, which would make it the third terminal in the city.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScdudMHlCYk
It is very good to see Bangalore metro getting funds from different sources for making the progress well.
It would be good if they connect Baiyappanahalli station with Nagavara line and thus making it more feasible for people living in east and south east Bangalore for taking Airport metro starting from Nagavara.
E.g.
Bommasandra – Silkboard – K R Puram – Baiyappanahalli – Nagavara – Airport
Whitefield – Baiyappanahalli – Nagavara – Airport
K.R. Market metro station to showcase heritage of locality
————————————————————————
Source http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/K.R.-Market-metro-station-to-showcase-heritage-of-locality/article17075407.ece
Metro link to Whitefield will cost 1,075 trees
http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/metro-link-to-whitefield-will-cost-1075-trees/articleshow/56743510.cms
Hi TMRG
I saw some news paper reports that trial for phase 1 will start from Feb 10. After that I am not seeing any update.
In BMRCL twitter also I see some construction update of Phase 2. Do we have any update when the trial will start
They’re saying Feb 10, but it’ll just be a media event to drive up everyone’s hopes – nothing more.
Hi TMRG,
Any idea when Gottigere (IIM) to Nagawara line work will start. The train line supposed to go in front of my apartment. It is been few years now, the wait seems to be never ending.
Thanks!
Start of work is dependent on the BMRCL’s ability to negotiate & secure the loan I’ve written about above. Whenever they invite tenders (bids), that’ll be a good indicator that they’ve secured a deal. With the general timeframe required to conduct the bidding stage and BMRCL’s track-record of awarding contracts, construction right now can only begin in mid-2018.
Doha now holds the Guinness World Record for operating the highest number of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) in a single city at one time, Qatar Rail has announced. The country is currently running all 21 of its massive TBMs, which have been steadily digging underground to make way for the upcoming Doha Metro
Green Line Qatar – progress movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRSeYUEQu_o
Nice clip of TBM
DMRC should look into this record and cross-check with their records. Their contractors deployed 36 TBMs for Phase 3, but only half or so were tunneling at the same time in 2016. Rest were either being assembled, pushed out for next drive or being dismantled for completing the job.
Source:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2017/feb/02/new-metro-act-the-need-of-the-hour-1566070.html
02nd February 2017 BENGALURU: The budget proposal to enact a new Metro Rail Act to facilitate greater private participation and investment in construction and operations of Metro projects was welcomed by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola.
“We have been eagerly waiting for the new Metro Act. The one that is being followed presently was introduced years ago and many developments have taken place in the Metro across the country since then,” he said.
The Metro Railway (Operation & Maintenance) Act was introduced in 2002 and a few amendments have been introduced over the years. The budget also proposed a new Metro Rail Policy in order to open up job opportunities for the youth. Another Metro official said, “It will focus on innovative financing.
BMRCL has already gone that way by choosing this mode of financing for our new line linking K R Puram and Silk Board.”
Metro officials said further details on the Act and the Policy were awaited.
Metro Phase 1 set to meet April deadline
Bengaluru, Feb 4, 2017, DHNS
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/594727/metro-phase-1-set-meet.html
God Bless Bangalore people, if it starts on 1st April
European Bank’s Rs 3.7k crore fillip for Metro Phase-II
06th February 2017
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2017/feb/06/european-banks-rs-37k-crore-fillip-for-metro-phase-ii-1567429.html
Feb 6, 2017
Marathahalli-Silk Board Junction stretch in the city’s IT hub is the lowest -4.48 km per hour -during peak hours, according to a latest study on traffic speed on some of the busiest roads of the metropolis.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/at-silk-board-junction-traffic-inches-at-just-4-5-kmph/articleshow/56991915.cms
@TMRG – the website is loading slower than earlier. If possible do some fixes to load website faster.
Works fine for me on both mobile & desktop. Is it still slow for you?
It was very fast in early days. Like may be a year or before that, now-e-days its taking some time to load. Just keep an eye on uploading the optimized images only.
@TMRG- I see pictures of work at R2 (Mysore Road Junction of Ring Road to Kengeri ) in twitter even R3 ext ,R4ext . But no actual work seems to have started on ground in R1 extension (Baiyappanahalli to Whitefield ). May be I am missing some thing. Even the electricity wire shifting work has started.
AT this rate R1ext will finish very late and it appears that other extensions will happen in 2 years max.
R5 ,R6 is a different story
@TMRG- Small correction, R3ext actual construction work has also not started.In my opinion R1ext will have the maximum traffic and I hope its construction work will also start soon.We might get more clue in the Feb 2017 news letter which is expected in a couple of days.
Pointing out that the trials to test the links will take two months and the inspection by the railways safety commissioner another two or three months, he argues the deadline of April is unlikely to be met.
Feb 8, 2017
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/080217/will-bengaluru-metro-stick-to-april-deadline.html
BMRCL increase speed of train by 10 km /hr to save 2 min
Source : BMRCL comes up with a new plan! – NEWS9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X86ZEnoKCYU
BMRCL to start trial on full stretch by 15 Feb
Good news for south Bengalureans! – NEWS9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGmZpQTAweY
Good news for people going to airport (alternative road )
————————————————-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/new-route-for-kempegowda-international-airport-by-sunday/articleshow/57090318.cms
BENGALURU: After years of waiting, citizens can take an alternative route to Kempegowda International Airport from Sunday. The alternative road was readied on a war footing to ensure it was opened before Aero India 2017 kicked off on February 14, 2017.
Hi Team,
Is there any chance for BMRCL to run the metros in circular fashion between Depot to Depots? This will ease pressure on the central lines?