Update: The central committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has recommended environmental clearance for the Peripheral Ring Road project in Bangalore. However, this is subject to the Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) compliance with nearly 20 directions. These include afforestation, rainwater harvesting, and non-felling of heritage trees, among others.
After being on the drawing board for several years, the Peripheral Ring Road Project (PRR) has finally received a nod from the Karnataka government. The mega project would encircle the peripheral areas of Bangalore, the city best known for its IT/ITeS hubs and new-age businesses. Once through, the development will create new connectivity points and fillip the realty landscape in Bangalore by and large.
Let us understand the mega project and its expected impact on Bangalore’s realty market.
PRR Bangalore: Project details
As per the plans, the Peripheral Ring Road will be a 73 km circular road, with eight lanes (100 metres wide) and six service lanes. It will cover areas of North and East Bangalore and Anekal. The stretch will start from NICE Road Junction at the Tumkur Road, pass through Bellary Road, Old Madras Road and end at National Highway- 44 on the Hosur Road. Further, it will also be integrated with the semi-circular NICE Road near BIEC and near Konappana Agrahara. It will be an 8-lane expressway comprising 6 service lanes.
About 2,400 acres of land is expected to be acquired for the road. The project will be executed via a public-private partnership on the Design-Build Finance Operate and Transfer model. The road developer will get a concession to collect toll for 50 years to meet the funding targets of the project and recover its costs and profits.
Once completed, the road will have 17 toll plazas and two clover field junctions at Old Madras Road and Airport Road. Total nine entry and exit points have been identified with five flyovers, four underpasses and five Railway Overbridges (ROB).
PRR Bangalore: Key facts
- Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is developing the Peripheral Ring Road project
- The total estimated cost of the project is around Rs 21,000 crore
- It is being developed under the Public-Private Partnership Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer model (PPP-DBFOT)
- The deadline for the completion of the project is December 2027
- The approximate length of the project is 73 km
- It will have 8 lanes (6 service lanes)
- The width of the lane is 3.5 m
- The maximum permissible speed is 100 km/hr
PRR Bangalore: The need for the third Ring Road
At present, Bangalore has two Ring Roads. The Inner Ring Road links Indiranagar to Koramangala, while the Outer Ring Road (ORR), which is 60 km long, links all the highways that converge into Bangalore, including five National and five State Highways. These include Mysore Road, Bannerghatta Road, Tumkur Road, Magadi Road and Kanakpura Road, among others.
It is estimated that more than 10,000 heavy vehicles use the Outer Ring Road, which is also facing pressure from the growing real estate around it. The new Kempegowda International Airport also pushes the vehicular traffic here. Keeping in mind the traffic burden on existing roads and the increasing number of new vehicles in Bangalore (the district is witnessing a 10 percent annual vehicle growth), the Peripheral Ring Road received renewed interest from policymakers.
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PRR Bangalore: Timeline
The project was mooted in 2005-06 by the then government.
Between 2006 and 2010, the land acquisition process hit a roadblock with a number of landowners approaching Courts.
In 2011, the High Court cancelled the project due to delays. The government then revised the length of the road to 65 km and sought the Court's permit for land acquisition.
The project got environmental clearance in 2014, and by 2015, the Urban Development Department gave its assent for the project.
Now, with the Supreme Court giving its nod for land acquisition, the project has been brought back to life. Also, the original length of the road has been revised from 65 km to 73.5 km to enable linking of the road with the BMICP Expressway or the NICE Road as it is locally called. Japanese agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was roped in to finance this project. Initially, the project's cost was pegged at Rs 3,000 crore, which has jumped to Rs 21,000 crore now, with land acquisition forming the bulk of this amount.
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PRR Bangalore: Challenges ahead
One challenge that still stands as a speed breaker on the completion of the project is land acquisition. Farmers are demanding compensation as specified under the Fair Compensation Act. This would mean the project cost may exceed the estimated Rs 21,000 crore mark and may face delays.
However, the residents of Yelahanka zone through this road have pinned hopes on traffic decongestion. The Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road will aid vehicles moving towards the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) from Tumakuru Road, Electronic City, Whitefield and KR Puram as they can take the Peripheral Ring Road till Kogilu Cross towards the Airport. This will ease the traffic movement in the Yelahanka area.
PRR Bangalore: Environmental impact
Approximately 33,000 trees are expected to be cut for PRR development, which had sparked concerns from environmentalists. This project is also likely to affect forest land in Jarakabandekaval and six water bodies. To curb this, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued 20 directions to BDA to comply with. This comes as a rider to the recent environment clearance approved by the ministry. The directions include afforestation, rainwater harvesting, and non-felling of heritage trees, among others. The committee has advised BDA to alter the alignment if heritage trees stand in its way.
PRR Bangalore: Impact on real estate
The PRR will positively influence real estate not just in the areas along its length but also in other areas that will be decongested. The new Ring Road will connect with Sarajapur Road, Old Madras Road and Bellary Road, all of which have seen robust real estate growth in recent times. The PRR has the potential to become an economic corridor much like the ORR, which has seen massive real estate expansion over the years. It will also improve connectivity to Sarjapura, Varthur, Whitefield, Hoskote and the Kempegowda International Airport.
Zakir Hussein, Owner, Topend Realty shares, "Both NICE Road and ORR are facing huge traffic issues. Vehicular jams are commonplace. One of the reasons is the traffic from outside the city. But, the PPR will help bypass this traffic and ease the pressure on these roads."
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and some private real estate players have already begun preparing new destinations for investment. The BDA is developing the Arkavathy Layout, D Devaraj Urs Layout, DR K Shivarama Karanth Layout, Kempegowda Layout, KC Reddy Layout and S Nijalingappa Layout. At the same time, the Karnataka Housing Board is working on the second phase of the Suryanagar Layout. All of these are located close to the proposed PRR.
Lokesh Machappa, Owner Dreams Realty, adds, "The PRR is expected develop as a major commercial and residential hub in the future. All the areas abutting the new road are expected to see interest from developers. Existing micro-markets like Whitefield and Electronic City will also see interest because of the improved connectivity."
The road will also open possibilities for Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Data Centres, Logistic Parks, and IT Centres due to easy access and land availability.
PRR Bangalore: District list
To construct the PRR in Bangalore, land in around 67 villages will have to be acquired, spread across 8 districts. These are-
- Yeshwanthpur
- Hesaraghatta
- Yelahanka
- KR Puram
- Bidhrahalli
- Varthur
- Sarjapur
- Attibele
A detailed list of villages is available on the official portal of JICA.
PRR Bangalore: Special features
As per the project plan, someplace in the median will be left vacant for metro projects in the future. It will also have provisions for a helipad and electronic charging stations for EVs.
Bangalore Peripheral Ring Road: Current status (September 2023)
The central committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has recommended environmental clearance for the Peripheral Ring Road project in Bangalore. However, this is subject to the Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) compliance with nearly 20 directions. These include afforestation, rainwater harvesting, and non-felling of heritage trees, among others.
In fact, BDA has also suggested exploring innovative financing models to push the progress of the project. One proposed solution involves developing residential areas on government land on the peripheries and compensating farmers by providing them with developed land in exchange for their acquired land.
Another alternative is to opt for a hybrid annuity model, similar to NHAI's Bangalore-Mysore Expressway. To develop the project, 40 percent of the project cost will be invested by the implementing agency, while the remaining funds will be provided by private investors. In this option, the BDA will collect tolls and gradually refund the developer.
Another option discussed was the possibility of issuing a premium floor area ratio (FAR) and collecting betterment fees from developers of residential and commercial buildings that will benefit from the PRR corridors. Not only these will contribute to the long-term financing, but BDA also plans to seek inputs from various stakeholders.
However, as per official reports, the financing model needs to be clarified further before initiating a new tender.
In July 2022, BDA floated tenders for constructing the 74 km Peripheral Ring Road (PRR). However, it found no bidders. These tenders were previously invited in March but had to be scrapped at the last moment due to technical glitches. This was the second time the tenders were floated without any changes in the terms and conditions.
The situation looks tough for the authorities as the project is expected to get further delayed if the tenders are not allotted on time. However, the project recently got environmental clearance from the Expert Appraisal Committee under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest Climate Change, which was one of the roadblocks to the project’s completion.
Earlier, the farmers' agitation also delayed the construction as disputes relating to land acquisition reached the Courts. However, the authorities have now received a go-ahead from the Supreme Court. Global tenders were invited by BDA, and an Israeli firm, Symba Maz, had also expressed interest in investing in this project, the cost for which has now escalated to Rs 21,250 crore.
The government has created a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called the Bengaluru PRR Development Corporation Ltd to implement this project. Formal tenders are expected to be invited soon to finalise a developer for this road.
With the Cabinet approval in place, the project seems to be moving up from the drawing board to the implementation stage. Once constructed, this road project would significantly ease the high-traffic areas and have a strong effect on the real estate market in Bangalore.
