BANGALORE (Metro Rail News): Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is looking into financing solutions after missing key deadlines for many of its Phase 2 sections. It has applied for a loan of Rs 550 crore in funds from the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) for civil work on the RV Road – Bommasandra (Yellow Line).
“A decision in this regard will be taken at the appropriate time based on the requirement of funds and after due compliance of all applicable statutory formalities and regulatory approvals,” BMRCL’s 2020-21 annual report released on Tuesday states.
According to BMRCL Managing Director Anjum Parwez, For Phase 2, there is a shortage of roughly Rs 3,500 crore. Therefore, we have requested 550 crores from the megacity revolving fund of the KUIDFC. The remaining money will be sourced from the domestic market, but there is no immediate need because the Phase 2 deadline is 2024.
According to the report, the agency’s financial losses have been increasing over time, with losses of Rs 352.2 crore in 2017-2018, Rs 498.4 crore in 2018-19, Rs 598.5 crore in 2019-20, and Rs 904.8 crore in 2020-21. On the other hand, the farebox revenue (ticket revenue) increased from Rs 325 crore in 2017-2018, Rs 402.3 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 418.8 crore in 2019-20.
However, because of the pandemic, it fell to Rs 73.5 crore in 2020-21. Non-fare box revenue increased from Rs 12.2 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 17.1 crore in 2018-19, before falling to Rs 14.4 crore in 2019-20 and Rs 8.4 crore in 2020-21.
We’ve now surpassed the pre-Omicron number of roughly 3.5 lakh riders. Before Covid, our ridership was about 5.6-5.7 lakh. Many IT firms are reopening offices as early as next month, so ridership is expected to rise, Parwez added. The 72-kilometre Phase 2 project for Metro was approved in 2014 and was intended to be completed by 2017.
However, the Phase 2 date has been pushed back to 2024-2025, increasing the project cost from Rs 26,405 crore to Rs 30,695 crore.
For Phase 2, the Union and state governments would each contribute Rs 7,736.7 crore in equity, which will be split evenly.
Out Of this, both governments have already released Rs 6,629.1 crore, leaving a balance of Rs 1,107.5 crore scheduled to be sanctioned under the budgetary provisions, according to the report. The Outer Ring Road – Kempegowda International Airport Metro route was approved by the Centre in June 2021, with a completion date of 2025 and an estimated cost of Rs 14,788 crore.
E Sreedharan, India’s Metro Man and key adviser to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, noted that each day that work is delayed costs, BMRCL roughly Rs 1.5 crore extra.
