$500 mn ADB loan approved for Namma Metro

On Tuesday, multilateral lending financial institution Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced that they had approved a $500 million loan for the construction of two new metro rail lines in Bengaluru. ADB said in a statement that the project aimed to develop two new metro lines, which would mostly be elevated. The complete length of the project will encompass 56 km along the Outer Ring Road and National Highway 44 between Kempegowda International Airport and Central Silk board. It also said that the 30 metro stations that will be established would also sport multimodal connectivity facilities such as taxi stands, motorcycle pools, bus bays and pedestrian bridges and walkways. Integrated into these stations will be facilities that will cater to the needs of the vulnerable group, such as differently-abled persons, the elderly and the children. ADB will also provide the state with an additional $2million technical assistance grant to help the government in actualising the frameworks and define the urban development plans, zeroing in on integration of multimodal connectivity and other transit-oriented development. The population of Bengaluru is estimated to reach more than 16 million by the end of 2030. Image Source