Work on BIA rail link from July

Bangalore: Running some seven metres above the many magic boxes along the Bellary Road and going underground to duck the electronic systems of the Air Force Station at Yelahanka, it promises a smart chug to the Bengaluru International Air port (BIA). The work on the 34-km High Speed Rail Link (HSRL) to BIA is set to start in July.
According to the Principal Secretary (Infrastructure) V Madhu, the state government on Thursday received the revised draft of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on HSRL from the the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).
Madhu said the government has shortlisted five bidders — consortia led by Tatas, Reliance, L&T, ICM and Lanco.
Taking into account the three months time required for the tender process upon the call for request for qualification (RFQ) and the issue of the work order, the project can be expected to start in July, Madhu said. Quoting DMRC chairperson E Sreedharan, he also said that the project could be operationalised in 32 months after the start of construction.
As per the revised estimate, the HSRL linking MG Road in the city and the BIA will cost Rs 6,000 crore; an earlier estimate had pegged it to be at Rs 5,767 crore.
The underground segment near the Yelahanka Airforce Station is one of the issues leading to the increase in project cost, Madhu said.
The pending finalisation of BIAL’s plans for its second terminal is also an issue that has been delaying HSRL, Madhu added.
20/02/10 ExpressBuzz

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Categories: Airports Feb 2010