Work has begun on the first package of the 68-km Bengaluru Business Corridor, the chairman of Bengaluru Business Corridor Ltd (BBCL) said at a summit, and the Karnataka government plans to float tenders for packages two and three in August. The Peripheral Ring Road project, conceived in 2004, had been stalled for nearly two decades after a land acquisition notification in 2007 but has now entered construction. The corridor is expected to be completed within the next three years. Phase one spans 68.36 km and is divided into four packages. Package one covers the 21-km stretch from Tumakuru Road to Bellary Road; package two spans 17 km from Bellary Road to Old Madras Road; package three covers a 14.6-km link to Sarjapur Road; and package four comprises the remaining 15.6 km to Hosur Road, including an elevated section. The civic body earlier floated a tender worth Rs 3,348 crore, equivalent to Rs 33.48 billion (bn), for a 20-km first package. The chairman indicated the first package has been awarded and the contractor has begun land marking and preparatory work, and that although the contract allows a three-year execution period the government has requested completion within two years. Packages two and three, covering about 31 km, will be tendered in August while the fourth is likely to be taken up in September or October. He expressed confidence the complete ring would be delivered within the three-year timeframe. The corridor will run from Madavara near Nelamangala through Yelahanka, Whitefield and Sarjapur Road to Electronics City, complementing the existing NICE Road to form a full ring around Bengaluru. It is expected to ease congestion in north, east and west Bengaluru by diverting traffic away from bottlenecks such as Hebbal and KR Puram and to unlock large tracts of land for future development, with the government exploring transit-oriented development along the route. On private participation the chairman said the primary responsibility for public infrastructure lies with government agencies, while voluntary contributions from developers can complement those efforts.