22-Km Bengaluru Airport Highway Becomes South India's Highest Toll Revenue Earner

23 Dec 2024 CW Team

The Sadahalli toll plaza near Bengaluru’s international airport has become the highest toll revenue generator in South India. It surpassed other toll plazas in the region, including those at Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu and Vempadu in Andhra Pradesh, for the year ending March 2024.

This toll plaza collects fees for the 22-km stretch of road connecting travelers to the airport. A review of toll collection across 322 national highways in India shows this stretch ranks among the top five nationally for revenue.

No other South Indian toll road has surpassed Rs 300 crore in user fees, a figure achieved by Sadahalli. Only two toll plazas, Bharthana in Gujarat and Barajore in Uttar Pradesh, have reported higher collections at Rs 472 crore and Rs 364 crore, respectively, for 2023-24.

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Nitin Gadkari, shared these toll collection figures in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.

Highways in India fall into two categories: public-funded and those operated by private entities under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Karnataka leads with 33 highways under the PPP model, followed by Tamil Nadu (30), Andhra Pradesh (19), Telangana (5), and Kerala (4).

In terms of total highways, Tamil Nadu has the most at 71, followed by Andhra Pradesh (70), Karnataka (56), Telangana (35), and Kerala (9).

The Sadahalli toll plaza has experienced remarkable growth, reaching Rs 308 crore in collections for 2023-24.

Despite a dip in revenue during the COVID-19 years (2020-21 and 2021-22), the airport stretch has generated Rs 1,577 crore in total revenue over the past decade. However, figures like venture capitalist Mohandas Pai and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw have criticized the toll, suggesting the government should end the toll collection, as no other city imposes such fees for airport access.

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