Managing Director of Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Anjum Parwez told the media that the Bengaluru metro network would be increased from 56 km to 170 km, with 17 lakh daily ridership by 2024.

He said that the Challaghatta station would be completed by September this year, and the 3 km stretch Nagasandra-Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BEIC) would be operational by October-November.

The completion date for both the corridor projects, Byappanahalli-Whitefield and RV Road-Bommasandra, is December 2022, while work for the Kalena Agrahara-Nagawara corridor is expected to be completed by 2024.

Parwez said that the Outer Ring Road (ORR) and KR Puram Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) are on track.

He added that after the completion of the Byappanahalli-Whitefield and ORR-Airport Metro projects, the daily ridership will increase to 17 lakh by 2024.

Last year in May, BMRCL awarded the construction work of Package-1 Central Silk board to Afcons Infrastructure and Package-2 of the Kodibeesanahalli-KR Puram to Shankaranarayana Constructions (SNC). In November, it awarded all the three civil construction contracts from KR Puram to KIA to Nagarjuna Construction Company.

BMRCL requires five years to complete metro corridor projects. However, due to the land acquisition issues, the work on the Nagasandra-BIEC section got delayed.

He said that the ORR-airport corridor would not witness delay due to land acquisition because most of the land is acquired and handed over to the contractors.

He added that U-girders would be used for the construction of a viaduct for the ORR-airport metro corridor.

Delays of other metro projects were also due to issues of land acquisition. SNC has completed 125 piles, and Afcons has completed piling at 118 locations on the ORR stretch, he said.

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