The Union government on August 16 issued clearance for phase III expansions of Namma Metro in Bengaluru. Under phase III, two corridors are to be constructed at a cost of Rs 15,611 crores with an estimated operational deadline of 2029. One corridor will connect JP Nagar 4th Phase to Kempapura via Goraguntepalya, Magadi Road, Mysuru Road, and Kanakapura Road running along the Outer Ring Road West. This will cover a distance of 32.15 km. The second corridor will connect Hosahalli to Kadabagere along Magadi Road and will span 12.5 km.
According to Deccan Herald, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has already begun pre-construction work including land acquisition, tree enumeration and geotechnical analysis. A senior BMRCL further reportedly told the newspaper that Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has “informally agreed” to provide the full loan for the project.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel and JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy said in a statement, “This is a Varamahalakshmi festival gift to the citizens of Bengaluru. I thank Narandra Modi avaru for his keen interest in the development of Karnataka.”
The minister also said that the JP Nagar to Kempapura corridor will have 21 stations and that the Hosahalli to Kadabagere corridor will have nine stations.
As a significant stretch of the JP Nagar-Kempapura corridor will run through South Bengaluru, MP for this constituency and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya also reacted to the announcement. He said, “ Great news for Bengaluru and especially, Bengaluru South! The Union Cabinet has approved the Metro Phase 3 project connecting JP Nagar 4th Phase to Kempapura. This will provide enhanced metro coverage to Bengaluru South. This is one mega infrastructure project that I was continuously pushing for!”