Ready to float tenders for tunnel roads in Bengaluru: D K Shivakumar

When Expression of Interest (EoI) was first floated for the project, only two engineering and mobility agencies had come forth with a plan. “After that, eight to ten people asked me to go for international bidding (for the project), saying that they were ready to invest,” he added.

Shivakumar, in the past, has estimated the tunnel road project in Bengaluru to cost around Rs 50,000 crore. The reports by the agencies will provide recommendations on the financing model “as a lot of money is involved”, whether the road should be taken up as a pilot or built across Bengaluru, the location of entry and exit points, number of lanes etc. Of the roads in Bengaluru, 190 km stretch of roads with high traffic congestion will be taken up on priority, he said.

The government was considering tunnel roads in stretches along Bellary Road, Old Madras Road, Old Airport Road, Sarjapur Road to Hosur and Mysuru Road.

The Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) required for the project were currently unavailable in the state. There are such machines deployed in Mumbai and parts of North India. The project will require larger TBMs as were looking at constructing a minimum of four lanes, Shivakumar added.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and Bangalore Development Authority had called for EoI in July this year. The government also decided to go for a global tender to take up the ambitious project for the traffic-dense city.