India-ADB sign $500 million loan agreement to expand metro rail network in Bengaluru

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BENGALURU (METRO RAIL NEWS): The Asian Development Bank will grant a loan of USD 500 million to enhance Bengaluru’s metro rail network by building two new metro lines totalling 56 kilometres.

On Thursday, the Indian government and the Asian Development Bank signed an agreement in this respect. Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, signed the agreement for the Bengaluru Metro Rail Project.

According to ADB, the project will build two additional metro lines with 30 stations between Central Silk Board and Kempegowda International Airport, primarily elevated, along Outer Ring Road and National Highway 44 between Central Silk Board and Kempegowda International Airport.

It stated that “this will assist decongest traffic in the city region and enable smooth access to the airport.”

The requirements of vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities, would be reflected in metro amenities, according to the statement.

According to Konishi, the initiative aims to help Bengaluru become a more livable and sustainable city by promoting urban public transportation and urban development based on the ideas of transit-oriented development (TOD) and multi-modal integration (MMI).

The TOD-based urban development plan, according to the ADB, will focus on realigning growth and increasing the city’s economic output by building higher density, compact, mixed-use, mixed-income, safe, resource-efficient, and inclusive neighbourhoods.

TOD also wants to increase land values along these corridors, producing capital money for the state to fulfil the city’s long-term investment needs.

The project, it added, will build two new metro lines, primarily elevated, between Central Silk Board and Kempegowda International Airport, with 30 stops, along Outer Ring Road and National Highway 44.

The multilateral lending agency stated, “This will assist decongest traffic in the city region and enable smooth access to the airport.”

It further stated that a USD 2 million technical assistance grant from the Asian Development Bank will support the state government in developing urban development plans and their implementation frameworks, with a focus on TOD and multimodal integration.

The money would also be utilised to improve the capabilities of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited and other state agencies to carry out these plans.

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