Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed an agreement with the Government of India, to provide Japanese official development assistance (ODA) loan amounting to Japanese Yen 52,036 million which is approximately 3,717 crore Indian rupees, for the development of Phase 2 of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in Bengaluru, reports The Economic Times.
The JICA funded metro rail network for Phase 2, includes Line R6 (Nagawara Gottigere), Phase 2A (Silk Board K R.Puram), and Phase 2B (K R. Puram Kempegowda International Airport Terminal). The rail network covers approximately 22 km, 20 km, and 38 km for R6, 2A, and 2B respectively.
In February, Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2021 speech had announced the allocation of Rs 14,788 crore for the Phase 2A and 2B of Namma Metro Phase II project covering a length of 58 km. This was done to give momentum to the project.
Earlier in March 2019, BMRCL had completed land acquisition procedures for Kothanur and Hebbagodi depots. For Anjanapura, the final notification had been sent to the government and in Challaghatta 21 acres of land was acquired for the metro project.
In March 2006, the first Japanese ODA loan agreement was signed by JICA for BMRCL Phase 1. Phase 1 has an operational rail network of 42.3 Km with 41 stations.
The cumulative loan amount provided by JICA for metro projects in India (including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad) exceeds 1.3 trillion Japanese Yen (Rs 87,000 crore approximately), mentions The Economic Times.