ETA unveils residential complex

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1309003.cms

Dubai construction major ETA Star on Saturday launched the first environment certified 1.6 million sq ft residential complex in Bangalore "The Gardens".

"This is the first residential project cleared by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest", Syed M Salahuddin, the company's Managing Director told reporters.

"The gardens will have energy efficient sustainable architecture and incorporate eco friendly features including rain water harvesting, solid waste management, harnessing of solar energy and maximum green cover", he said.

ETA star property developer, the real estate arm of ETA Ascon, a multi-dimensional, diversified organisatiobn based in Dubai, with a turnover of over $2.4 billion , is looking at an investment of Rs 450 crore in India over a five-year period, Salahuddin said.

__________________________________________

From the official website

http://www.etastar.co.in/

The majority of inhabited accommodation will be at or above the tree canopy level which characterizes this ‘development in the sky’.

Tower Block Elevations Each tower is a 19 storey construction. Towering with purpose The Gardens comprise of ten tower blocks, each boasting a unique and spectacular view of the development. Offering a calming refuge from the heat and dust of the city, this project is based on a unique structural design. The east-west oriented towers are of different heights and have two wings around an atrium space. This innovation ensures that excessive solar gain is avoided, keeping apartments cool. It also ensures that winds are directed all around the estate, promoting air circulation. Each apartment’s internal environment is thus shaded, cool and comfortable - without air conditioning. And to be further responsive to Bangalore’s beautiful climate, each tower is endowed with charming sky gardens at every 6th, 12th, and 18th floor.

All towers are also interconnected by bridges - so when you want to visit a neighbour, you don't have to go all the way down, but simply walk across the linking bridge to where you want to be. The combined benefits of having ten huge towers also include the provision of an ample covered car parking area.

Renders:

1
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2531/elevationetastar10kb.jpg

2
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2592/elevationetastar28af.jpg

3
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/6853/etastar33gs.jpg

4
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3557/etaelev4cw.jpg

More at

http://www.etastar.co.in/htmls/elevation.html

That's very nice looking, especially at night. And though its a Dubai company, the buildings reflect Indian architecure, and modern south Indian highrise styles, and not some garish pseudo-Arabian mishmash that characterizes Dubai companys' construction around the world.

Whats also cool to me is that they appear to be renderings that incorporate the actual surrounding areas. Tho its a sad thing when builders are calling 19 storey towers as a 'development in the sky'.

Mantri Bizz Park render
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/2853/12jy2.jpg

Progeon @ infy campus is supposed to be ready, as per the info from Sobha Developers website. The only striking difference is, that the render shows it as a 6+ storey complex, whereas, according to Sobha it's only ground + 3. So, were the plans altered at the construction stage? If so, the actual building won't look like this:http://www.hafeezcontractor.com/corporateoffices/infosys/infosysprogeon/infosysprogeon.html#

I hope that ain't true. If the design stays relatively the same, it won't look nearly as good in 3 storeys as six.

For posterity's sake (that's fast becoming my favorite phrase), here's the link to sobha developers's Progen info
http://www.sobhadevelopers.com/projects/contracts/49.html

I'll post some of the other projects listed there tomorrow, unless someone beats me to it. ;) I hadn't before realized that Sobha's website had a list of commercial projects.


Cheers,
Jai

I hope that ain't true. If the design stays relatively the same, it won't look nearly as good in 3 storeys as six.

For posterity's sake (that's fast becoming my favorite phrase), here's the link to sobha developers's Progen info
http://www.sobhadevelopers.com/projects/contracts/49.html

I'll post some of the other projects listed there tomorrow, unless someone beats me to it. ;) I hadn't before realized that Sobha's website had a list of commercial projects.


Cheers,
Jai

Sobha is doing all the meaty stuff for Infy Baby! And what's more, they seem to be completing their projects on an average in less than 9 months. To be constructing and selling directly, 2000 apartments annually in Bangalore, says alot about: the size, the ambition and the success of this company. Their average apartment is selling for 50-60 lakhs, now that in itself gives us a turnover of 1200 crore rupees from asingle segment of the construction sector. Add to it: retail, contract work and commercial space, and you begin to get a humungous picture of a group, that's hardly known outside the state of Karnataka.

There are many more DLF's in the country than we actually care to think about. ;)

I thought these chaps were promising to complete the first phase by this year end. This was announcd by the company once the HC judgement had gone in their favor.

Peripheral road of BMIC to be ready by July next year

http://www.hindu.com/2005/11/30/stories/2005113019430400.htm

BANGALORE: After years of legal wrangles, clearance delays and much else, the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) Project will finally take off in July next year.

The first phase, comprising the 41-km southern section of the peripheral road connecting Tumkur Road and Hosur Road, the nine-kilometre link road from Bangalore-Mysore Expressway to Mysore Road and the elevated three-kilometre expressway from link road to downtown Bangalore, will be thrown open to traffic.

Go Dubai! Great stuff from ETA

http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/2635/imageloader2cg.jpg

Caption: The new Microsoft India facility, located at the Embassy Golf Links Business Park, in Bangalore on December 09, 2005. The seven storey building is equipped with world-class infrastructure and will house teams from Microsoft's Global Customer Service and Support Organization as well as the product and services marketing team of Microsoft India. Photo: K Murali Kumar

fellows, When Bangalore becomes Bengaluru, we will have to change the names of these threads too!

not to oppose traditionalism, but seriously begalure doesn't sound that great. it's kinda funny. they should just keep the same name.

that microsoft building looks really good. a landmark structure, i should say.

not to oppose traditionalism, but seriously begalure doesn't sound that great. it's kinda funny. they should just keep the same name.

that microsoft building looks really good. a landmark structure, i should say.

Its gonna be funny for Bangaloreans outside the Indian shores trying to explain that they aren't from Bangalore anymore.

I have a friend from Bangalore and he was thinking aloud, "man, now I have to tell everyone I am from 'Bengaluru'. It just sounds weird."

lol.

http://www.gopalanenterprises.com/

Gopalan Signature

http://tinypic.com/iombt2.gif

Gopalan Fortune City

http://tinypic.com/iomc5f.gif

http://www.alpinehousing.com/

Alpine Eco

http://tinypic.com/ion19g.jpg

Alpine Viva

The builder claims that it will have a 150 ft spectacular fountain, the largest in any apartment complex in India.

http://tinypic.com/ion3pu.jpg

http://www.puravankara.com/flash/riviera.asp

update pictures on u/c of Purva Riviera

Purva Fountainsquare
u/c 30/11/05
http://img478.imageshack.us/my.php?image=17529qy.jpg
http://img478.imageshack.us/my.php?image=17544qz.jpg
http://img478.imageshack.us/my.php?image=17550tq.jpg
http://img478.imageshack.us/my.php?image=17614qg.jpg

Purva Belmont
uc 05.11.01

http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/3900/belmont4rm.jpg

http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/7743/12864as.th.jpg (http://img458.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12864as.jpg)
http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/3072/12870bq.th.jpg (http://img458.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12870bq.jpg)
http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/5154/12881gp.th.jpg (http://img458.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12881gp.jpg)
http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/8118/12904wl.th.jpg (http://img458.imageshack.us/my.php?image=12904wl.jpg)

Springfields

Block A
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/5516/springfieldablock2gq.th.jpg (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=springfieldablock2gq.jpg)

Block B

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/2880/springfieldbblock4st.jpg

Block C

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4908/springfieldcblock0sq.th.jpg (http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=springfieldcblock0sq.jpg)

more pics at

http://www.springfields.info/project_status.html

What's happening (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/24/stories/2005122400120100.htm)

The city with megapolis dreams sets out to settle some basic infrastructure issues

A relentless campaign by the industry and citizens over the past year has resulted in the government announcing its resolve to expedite long pending infrastructure projects.

To cope with the future growth of the cityworld class infrastructure would be developed in five years, says P.G.R. Sindhia, Minister for Finance, Infrastructure and Industry. Of the Rs 20,000 earmarked to develop infrastructure in Karnataka, Bangalore would get a large chunk.

A stilted expressway would be built at a cost of Rs 400 crore, in a public-private partnership, along the Hosur Road to ease traffic congestion in the area which houses a large number of software companies. However, commuters eagerly await moves to connect the Electronic City with the IT corridor of Bannerghatta Road and Sarjapur Road.

The upcoming Bangalore international airport at Devanahalli, about 35 km from the city, with a proposed annual handling capacity of 8 million passengers, is expected to vastly improve air services to the city. The six-lane expressway connecting to the new airport is expected to be ready by 2008.

The Devanahalli area is developing into a greater Bangalore, while plans to connect the area through a 109-km peripheral ring road are expected to provide good connectivity to key habitats in the IT corridor employing about 2.5 lakh.

Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) has spent Rs 60 crore in 18 months to strengthen the road network and plans to asphalt and upgrade major roads at a cost of Rs 150 crore. These efforts would be supplemented by a Rs 140-crore, 139-km corridor project implemented by other local agencies.

The development of the busy Airport Road, which has come under severe stress as it is the only link to the existing HAL Airport, additional roads in areas like Koramangala and SJP Road, and subways and pedestrian over-bridges are expected to ease commuters' woes.

The Bangalore Water Supply & Sewerage Board has undertaken a Rs 350-crore Cauvery water project to provide drinking water to colonies located on the city's peripheries.

However, it is the prestigious Hi-Tech city project conceived by the Bangalore Development Authority that is expected to give Bangalore a new character. The Rs 491-crore project to create self-contained infrastructure such as schools, healthcare and other modern facilities is expected to set the tone for the future development of Bangalore.

However, all these promised facilities would prove inadequate until the much-delayed Rs 6,000-crore Metro Rail Project takes off. A growing city needs a fast transit system to improve its overall efficiency.

BMTC to introduce Volvo buses from new year

http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/25/stories/2005122520040300.htm

While 25 buses will be taken on contract, BMTC will deploy 25 on its own
All buses to be equipped with Global Positioning System
To be initially operated on select busy routes

Prestig Tech Park
http://www.prestigeconstructions.com/techpark/

http://tinypic.com/j6hhk8.jpg

Cash-rich Indian technology workers home in on luxury

http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051223/wl_sthasia_afp/indiaconstructionpropertyit

If your feeling depressed about a lack of activity in bangalore at the moment then join the club. But check out the commericial projects on these sites to put a smile back on your face:

http://www.salarpuriagroup.biz/html/projects_frame.htm

http://www.mantri.info/

http://www.puravankara.com/projects/premiere/premiere.asp

credit goes to all the above sites

http://img495.imageshack.us/img495/4648/col47ht.th.jpg (http://img495.imageshack.us/my.php?image=col47ht.jpg)

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9003/commercepers9cl.th.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/my.php?image=commercepers9cl.jpg)

(http://imageshack.us)

[img=http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/1841/saltech8wa.jpg] (http://imageshack.us)

[IMG]http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8397/sgrpii1dt.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[img=http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/6853/shall3tv.jpg] (http://imageshack.us)

[[img=http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/8885/swindsor5vs.jpg] (http://imageshack.us)

[img=http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9949/salasc7ug.jpg] (http://imageshack.us)

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4201/shall0rs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[img=http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/418/snova7sj.jpg] (http://imageshack.us)

[img=http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/418/snova7sj.jpg] (http://imageshack.us)

Does anyone know if the Bus-Stand will be built in Bangalore. The new one. 30 floors.????

Does anyone know if the Bus-Stand will be built in Bangalore. The new one. 30 floors.????

You mean 45 floors right? :)
Have heard nothing new about it.

Remember this one

Bearys Lakeside Habitat?

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/6255/lakesidehabitat3fs.th.jpg (http://img31.imageshack.us/my.php?image=lakesidehabitat3fs.jpg)

Well it seems to be rising as well
Photo - ajubdeen1

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/3189/twintowerblr1ce.jpg

You mean 45 floors right? :)
Have heard nothing new about it.

Ive heard it will begin construciton the moment the underground does in 2009.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.discoverbangalore.com/News.htm

Majestic Bus Stand to GO

Source: Times of India
Date: 17 September 2005

One of the city’s best-known landmarks, the gargantuan Majestic Bus Stand, will soon be gone.

In its place will be a spanking new-age 45-storey architectural marvel, complete with amphitheatre, malls and food courts.

And the buses? They will be there too, though the bulk of operations will carry on from underground.

This masterplan also hopes to decongest Bangalore to a large degree: it will include the underground Metro Rail station, terminals for KSRTC inter-state buses and BMTC buses — all connected.

meanwhile, Bangalore will have to make do with headlines on better pavements....

Model pavement? Come to MG Road (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1377218.cms)

Public-private partnership appears to be making progress. Property developer Prestige Group on Wednesday said it would upgrade the pavement on MG Road (between Anil Kumble Circle and Brigade Road) at a cost of Rs 50 lakh.

Prestige will get some signage rights on MG Road as an incentive for doing the pavement. Hotel complexes: Prestige is planning to set up two hotel complexes in north Bangalore — one in association with the Taj Group and the other a golf resort on 300 acres of land.

The Taj Group hotel will come up on an 8-acre property on the road to the upcoming international airport and is proposed to be positioned as an airport hotel.

Razack, who was speaking at a function to launch a new 419-apartment premium residential project called Kensington Gardens in Jalahalli, said the golf resort is being planned on a 300-acre property near Nandi Hills.

This Rs 600-crore project will have an 18-hole golf course combined with a residential layout. On UB City: Prestige, which is developing the massive UB City on Vittal Mallya Road, said the project will be ready by July this year.

Razack said almost the entire leasable area of 6 lakh sq ft has been taken — some of the clients being 3M (90,000 sq ft), Citi Group (75,000 sq ft), Regus Business Centre, Cable & Wireless, Kawasaki Engineering and Amba Research.

Proposal? Under construction?
Don't know and this architects website doesn't provide too much information (so what's new in that?).

But looks interesting.

Integrated Design Team (http://www.idt.co.in)

Ambrosia (?), Whitefield

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/4498/ambrosiawhitefieldidtarchitect.jpg

nice find sun. i looked through their site and they have some very interesting and modern projects. Unfortunately its hard to say if they are proposals or under implementation.

Would really like to see some of their designs on hard ground.

nice find sun. i looked through their site and they have some very interesting and modern projects. Unfortunately its hard to say if they are proposals or under implementation.

Would really like to see some of their designs on hard ground.

I also liked some of the projects that they have. But hard to say the status.

Purva Venezia

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/5639/purvavenezia17hc.jpg

Modern architecture in a Venetian setting - a spacious piazza, canals, bridges; spread over 21 acres with large open spaces; 16 blocks; G + 15 floors; 1332 apartments.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan272006/realty957442006126.asp

http://www.puravankara.com/projects/venezia/venezia.asp

______________________________

Purva Atria

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/8033/purvaatria9us.jpg
http://www.puravankara.com/projects/atria/atria.asp

UB City close up - photo CC right krtkn (http://www.flickr.com/people/krtkn/)

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/4259/ubcityundercons8bn.jpg

Sun> cool update on UB-city!!!:)

very nice update, sun.

do we know the heights of these towers?

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/576/srextancy8ll.th.jpg (http://img228.imageshack.us/my.php?image=srextancy8ll.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6052/bheights5za.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bheights5za.jpg)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/6520/elita14rt.th.jpg (http://img233.imageshack.us/my.php?image=elita14rt.jpg)

u/c

wow its topped out....spire looks hgue.....great pic

very nice update, sun.

do we know the heights of these towers?

I have no clue!

____________________________________

Brigade Gateway

http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/3451/brigadegateway23nn.jpg

This complex will also house the 30 storey Northstar Tower (office building).

Golden Blossom, Whitefield

http://www.ggproperties.com/blossom.html

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/155/goldenblossoms15mj.jpg

_____________________________________

Prestige Kensington Gardens

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/606/pretigekensingtongardens1mq.jpg

Anand Rao Circle flyover thrown open to traffic
http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/11/stories/2006021120920300.htm

Photo
http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/11/images/2006021120920301.jpg

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy inaugurated the flyover at Anand Rao Circle here on Friday. Though the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which started the project in December 2004, had promised to complete the flyover in November last, the deadline was postponed twice. The Rs. 27.60-crore project has a main carriageway of 647 metres and is 14 metres wide. It is expected to ease traffic congestion by 10,000 passenger car units (PCU) per hour. It is a free carriageway. The project, carried out by Simplex Concrete Piles (I) Ltd., includes a five-lane uni-directional carriageway up to Anand Rao Circle with a two-lane one-way down ramp towards Basaveshwara Circle and a four-lane one-way flyover on Seshadri Road crossing Anand Rao Circle and Subbanna Circle. Officials said work on a 7.5-metre wide loop just after the Anand Rao Circle is pending and will be completed by April.

Karnataka CM promises to rebuild Bangalore's infrastructure
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/businessline/blnus/14111509.htm

With corporate bigwigs shying away from the city, Karnataka's new Chief Minister, Mr H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday initiated a damage control exercise, promising to rebuild the Silicon Valley's crumbling infrastructure.
Mr Kumaraswamy's reaction follows a threat by Siemens India, which yesterday said it would not take up expansion plans in Bangalore due to poor infrastructure, including traffic chaos.

Only a day before, SemIndia had announced its plan to set up India's first $3 billion 'Fab city' for the semiconductor industry in Hyderabad, for which Karnataka was a serious contender. Mr Kumaraswamy yesterday said he would make a renewed bid to persuade SemIndia to opt for Karnataka.

Appealing to industrialists to cooperate with the new Government, he said, "We are only nine days old. We will clear all doubts regarding infrastructure to investors and turn the city investor-friendly soon."

Shell to establish technology centre in Bangalore
http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/08/stories/2006020807330400.htm

The world's third largest integrated oil company by market capitalisation, Royal Dutch Shell, is setting up a technology centre in Bangalore that will deliver high-end technical studies, projects and services for Shell across the globe as well as supporting interests in India.

"Bangalore will be the location for our latest technology centre. Currently, Shell has major research and development facilities in Houston (U.S.) and at Rijswijk and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Bangalore will be the third key location for Royal Dutch Shell technology," the company's India chief has said.

The services will span upstream exploration and production activities as well as downstream refinery and chemical operations. Shell Technology India (STI) will also provide access to cutting-edge Indian talent.

SanDisk Corp launches R&D unit in B’lore
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14136057

SanDisk Corporation, a leading flash memory data storage card products supplier, today announced the launch of its Research and Development facility -- the SanDisk India Device Design Centre Pvt Limited -- in the city.
Speaking to newspersons here, company Chief Operations Officer Sanjay Mehrotra said SanDisk had its R and D facilities in Israel, Japan and Scotland, besides Bangalore. It had teams of process, design and device engineers located at semiconductor fabrication plants, operated in partnership with Toshiba, in Japan. About India, he said it was expected to become a major market for SanDisk products as a result of booming demand for mobile phones and MP3 audio players. ''We need to have a solid presence to promote our brand and to leverage the opportunities for growth in the retail sector.'' India was a place for SanDisk to expand its global network of R and D centres because of the great talent pool available and the company's existing relationships with companies that support it in hardware, firmware and software testing, he added.

Wind River starts development centre in Bangalore
http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/business/stories/133523.html

Wind River Systems, a US-headquarterd firm that works in device software optimisation space, has announced the opening of its development centre in Bangalore. The centre will focus on new innovations to its product line, the company which has a sales office here, informed in a statement.
"The India development centre will be a centre of competence for a variety of technologies both in the traditional device software space such as C, C++, RTOS and also in newer technologies like Eclipse and J2EE. We plan to leverage the large pool of experts in these areas available in Bangalore," said Naren Nachiappan, vice president, Wind River Systems.

Tensilica Sets Up R&D Unit At Bangalore
http://www.efytimes.com/fullnews.asp?edid=10127

Tensilica, Inc. has set up a subsidiary at Bangalore to conduct fundamental and innovative R&D work for its configurable processor technology. The company's engineers are already working on critical technology for its Xtensa configurable processor product line at this R&D centre.

Tensilica’s processors are key components in system-on-chip (SOC) designs among the world’s top electronics companies, including Cisco Systems, LG Electronics, Olympus, Seiko Epson, etc. The company expects to pump over $40 million in this engineering centre over the next five years. The company is now on a head-hunt for open positions at this design centre.

Chris Rowen, president and CEO, Tensilica, said, “Because of the wealth of talented engineers available in India, we see this R&D centre as an integral part of our core R&D effort to develop the next wave in fundamental multiprocessor system-on-chip (SOC) design technology. Already, the development efforts underway in this office have become very productive, and we see a strong interchange between the team in our Santa Clara, Calif. USA headquarters and this team. This centre also gives us stronger contact with our customers in India.”

DaimlerChrysler to step up India R&D outsourcing
http://us.rediff.com/money/2006/feb/11daim.htm?q=bp&file=.htm

German carmaker DaimlerChrysler will increase outsourcing of Research and Development to India. DaimlerChrysler Research Centre in Bangalore undertakes research in he areas of encryption, image signal processing, telematics, fuel cell modelling, CAD, CAM, CAE and PDM, for the company's global requirements. The Indian centre would assist the group in designing and technology upgrade. "DaimlerChrysler is planning to significantly augment R&D works at DMRC in these areas. Similarly, the group's outsourcing of components like motors and crankshafts from India is also going to grow," Wilfried Aulbur, MD and CEO, DaimlerChrysler India, said.

Verismo Networks sets up product development centre
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1385491.cms

Verismo Networks on Tuesday announced investment of $ 2.5 mn from angel investor and tech entrepreneur Prakash Bhalerao and setting up of a product development and customer support centre here.

Most of Verismo's products would be completely designed and developed in its Bangalore centre, which currently engages over 100 engineers experienced in broadband, multimedia compression and storage technologies, company officials said.

Bangalore to get first green exhibition complex (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?storyflag=y&leftnm=lmnu1&leftindx=1&lselect=1&chklogin=N&autono=216431)

A 4-lakh square-feet exhibition complex is being built by the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association (IMTMA) near Peenya and will be completed by the end of the year. The complex is expected to secure the platinum rating, the highest rating for a ‘green’ building some time during 2007.

The country’s first green rated school, built by automobile major Ashok Leyland, is to come up in Hosur, an industrial suburb of Bangalore, but geographically located in Tamil Nadu.

With the idea of conserving natural resources catching up among the Indian corporates, the concept of green buildings has caught on and several firms have come forward to get their projects registered for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating.

During the last three years, three buildings in the country have been platinum-rated. They are CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad, the Wipro campus at Gurgaon, and ITC Green Centre in Delhi. In addition to these, the country has two gold standard green buildings -- Grundfos and NEG Micon, both in Chennai.

Brand B'lore set to bloom with 3 townships (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1432762.cms)

Three townships for the IT sector: This is the Centre's gift to Karnataka to ensure that Brand Bangalore continues to fly high.

Karnataka's proposal that the IT sector should get three exclusive townships got the Centre's nod on Tuesday.

"The specific location for the townships have not been identified, but they will be between Bangalore and Mysore," state officials told The Times of India.

In a post-budget news conference in New Delhi, all Union finance minister P Chidambaram said was: "We want to encourage such theme-based townships, which will have some industry components, similar to the Chinese model."

I am guessing that the location will be along the Delhi-Mysore Expressway.

I am guessing that the location will be along the Delhi-Mysore Expressway.


Did you mean to say "Bangalore-Mysore Expressway" ?

Ya. My mistake! :) I have no clue why I said Delhi.

Do you think we should start a thread on Bangalore Metro rail now that the project seems to be going forward? I must say, so far the CM is doing gr8 for blore..

Apple Support Centre in Bangalore

Apple Computer is reportedly setting up an online technical support centre in Bangalore, at an estimated investment of a whopping $20 million. In effect, the Bangalore facility will be the computer giant's first support centre outside of its California headquarters.

According to sources the Bangalore centre is being set up in the EcoSpace Business Park area, by property developer RMZ Corp. The facility will be spread over 1,40,000 to 1,50,000 sq ft, and is expected to be operational by end 2006.

It is believed that the centre will be a mix of high-end product development work and call centre (technical support) work.

While the product development team is likely to include around 100 to 200 engineers, the centre will offer support services for the entire range of Apple products including iPods (MP3 players); desktops (e Macs, Power Macs, etc); notebooks (ibooks, Powerbooks); peripherals; software; and servers.

Apple is likely to eventually employ up to 1,400 to 1,500 people in its Bangalore AppleCare Centre. The proposed centre will have in its neighbourhood, the likes of Accenture, Symbol, ICICI, Cadence, Broadcom, etc.

Both Apple and RMZ Corp have remained incommunicado about the upcoming center. However a state government official revealed that the government had cleared Apple s proposal to invest in Bangalore.






IBM Launches New Global Business Solution Center in India

http://news.tmcnet.com/news/-ibm-launches-global-business-solution-center-in-india-/2006/03/13/1451817.htm

IBM announced a new Global Business Solution Center in Bangalore, India to provide its clients with a range of high-value solutions through its global network of delivery centers.

The new center will enable the IBM consultants to develop and deploy solutions in over 50 key business areas such as Consumer Driven Supply Chain Optimization, Banking Risk and Compliance and Retail Merchandising.

IBM can now create and enhance a portfolio of replicable industry solutions that are developed by combining the strengths of IBM's business consulting, research, software, systems, engineering and emerging technologies.

The new solutions will be developed based on IBM's Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) methodology in collaboration with IBM clients and business partners. The center is set to become a foundry for the solutions, enabling IBM to deliver them to clients globally, rapidly and cost-effectively, through its global network of consulting delivery centers.




despite all the recent hullabulla about creaky infrastructure and all other stuff, b'lore is still the top destination for ITites. companies like IBM, cisco, AMD (global behemoths) are continually investing in this city and the trend really isn't stopping.
but eventually, the infrastructure woes will catch up. really surprising that kumaraswamy is still not reacting much to put the limelight on development activities. he still hasn't learnt the lesson.
very sad that a high potential state like karnataka is being ruled by assholes like gowda, k'swamy, dsingh, etc etc.
what happened to the likes of SM Krishna???

Rs 2,000-cr CNG project to come up in Bangalore

Speaking after the inauguration of GAIL-supported Air Pollution Related Disease Diagnostic Centre at the SDS TB & Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases at Hosur Road, GAIL Finance Director R K Goel said the project to supply CNG would be taken up at Bangalore at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore. The natural gas project will be a joint venture programme.

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar142006/index2029202006313.asp

Evident Software Establishes an Engineering Centre of Excellence in Bangalore to Meet Growing Market Needs
http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=95664


Societe Generale expands B'lore operations
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14162022

http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/25/stories/2006032522140500.htm
Quote:
Government gives nod for eight IT, BT Special Economic Zones

Special Correspondent Mega projects with Rs. 27,000 crores investment cleared Mega projects worth Rs. 27,000 crores cleared by the State Government
· Six of the special economic zones will come up in Bangalore and two in Mysore
· Wipro has been allotted 100 acres of land in Mysore

Bangalore: Mega projects with an investment of Rs. 27,000 crores were approved by the State Government here on Friday. Of these, setting up of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for Information Technology (IT) and Biotechnology sectors alone will account for about Rs. 20,000 crores.
The approvals are apparently meant to remove the tag that the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition is "anti-IT". These approvals were given at a meeting of State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) chaired by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who holds the Finance and Industry portfolios, was present at the meeting. The committee clears projects that are above Rs. 50 crores.
10 proposals pending
The proposals cleared include eight Special Economic Zones, which will be exclusively developed for information technology and biotechnology sectors. Six of these will be in Bangalore and two in Mysore. Sources said 10 proposals were pending with the Government.
Land allotted
Some of the SEZs cleared include those of Adarsh IT and IteS; Prestige Group; Dynasty, Sapphire and Tanglin Developers, and Shapurji Pallonji in Bangalore. Jubilant Organosys will set up a biotech SEZ in Mysore. Wipro has been allotted 100 acres in Mysore for a research and development centre.
This is the third highest investment cleared by the committee, after 2000-01 when 88 projects with an investment of Rs. 38,345 crores and in 1995-96 when 27 projects with an investment of Rs. 30,188 crores were cleared.

Great news for b'lore. even with the current mess with it's infrastructure, Bangalore will lead all other cities in IT substantially for many more years to come, if things continue the way they are right now.

Karnataka Govt clears Infosys land acquisition

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/03/26/stories/2006032602900200.htm

Infosys Technologies' pursuit of land acquisition in the city ended with the Karnataka Government finally having cleared its case recently for 845 acres.

http://www.newspagedesigner.com/users/2945/bangaloremetro.jpg

http://www.karnataka.com/watch/blr-metro/metro-rail.jpg

http://www.thehindu.com/2006/03/27/stories/2006032719180100.htm
Quote:
Narayana Murthy praises Kumaraswamy
Special Correspondent
BANGALORE: Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies N.R. Narayana Murthy has come out in praise of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's attitude towards industrial development, especially that of the information technology sector.
Speaking to a television channel here on Sunday, he described the Chief Minister's decisions as "well intentioned." About the approval for 845 acres of land for his company, Mr. Narayana Murthy said that Infosys had bought it at market rates from landholders. The Government had only approved the acquisition of land, he said meaning that the land had not been bought from the Government.

http://www.thehindu.com/2006/03/28/stories/2006032820690100.htm
Quote:
Government to implement Rs. 350-crore project to tackle traffic problem in Bangalore
Special Correspondent
It is to be implemented between 2006-07 and 2010-11; Rs. 44 crores earmarked for this fiscal

· 10-point programme to ensure smooth movement of vehicles
· Work on city roads taken up under 85 packages
· 41 roads to be developed under World Bank loan
· 30-km outer ring road to be built to decongest traffic

BANGALORE: The Government is planning to implement a Rs. 350-crore Bangalore Traffic Improvement Project to tackle traffic problem in the State capital. Replying to a Calling Attention notice from K. Chandrashekar and N.L. Narendrababu (both Congress) in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said the project will be implemented between 2006-07 and 2010-11. A sum of Rs. 44 crores has been earmarked for it in the 2006-07 financial year.
To ensure smooth movement of vehicles in the city, a 10-point programme will be prepared with the participation of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the Police Department. The programme will address issues related to roads, traffic management, bus stands, parking and road safety.

The work on city roads has been taken up under 85 packages. Fortyone roads will be developed under a World Bank loan and 29 roads under the information technology corridor category. The BMP has set aside adequate funds for road repairs in all wards. A 30-km outer ring road will be built to decongest the traffic, he said.

While work on a few flyovers has been completed, it is in progress on the ones at Airport Road and near the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology. Flyovers will be constructed at Tagore Circle, R.V. Teachers College Circle and Yeshwanthpur Circle. Work on a flyover at Ramakrishna Ashram was stopped following opposition to the project from the citizens, Mr. Kumaraswamy said.

For better traffic management, 992 police constables and officers will be recruited. About 17 lakh cases were registered in 2005 and Rs. 20 crores had been collected in the form of fine from vehicle users. More number of pre-paid autorickshaw stands will be set up. There are seven pre-paid autorickshaw stands now. ...

I just found an article which is one yr old on net. Does anyone has idea bout watz going on with the Commuter train project in blore??

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/Mar142005/img/map.jpg

While the metro rail will cater to the central parts, the proposed electric train service will connect densely-populated and congested residential areas.

BY P M RAGHUNANDAN
DH NEWS SERVICE, BANGALORE:


Citizens in the highly-congested western and eastern parts of Bangalore need not be disgruntled over the fact that the proposed metro rail project will not pass through most of their localities. For, an almost similar electric train service will be in place -- if all goes well -- much before the proposed metro rail chugs off.

The South Western Railways is planning to take up electrification of the tracks on all stations located in the western and eastern parts of the city connecting Malleshwaram with Byappanahalli off Old Madras Road. The project, which has already got the green signal from the Central Railway Board, is designed to cover all 11 existing railway stations here along two separate routes -- the inner and the outer chords.

Besides, stations will be upgraded with better amenities so that they can cater to the increasing passenger rush.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 24 crore.

Areas covered

While trains in the inner chord will cover Malleshwaram, Yeshwanthpur, Hebbal and Banaswadi (spanning 14 km), the outer chord will touch a larger ring of stations like Malleshwaram, Yeshwanthpur, Lottegollahalli, Kodigehalli, Yelahanka, Tanisandra, Chennasandra and Byappanahalli (total 31 km).

Trains on both routes will commence from the Bangalore City station in Majestic area, sources in the South Western Railway told Deccan Herald.

The proposed metro rail, which will be implemented by Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL), will pass through only Yeshwanthpur and Byappanahalli in Bangalore eastern and western parts. In fact, while the Bangalore metro rail is designed to cater to central parts of the City, the electric train service will supplement easy travel by covering far-flung areas.

The electric trains will cater to newly-developed densely-populated residential areas along the outer ring road. There will be no changes in rate of fare in the service.

In fact, many people, especially labourers, are already making use of existing train services to travel between these stations. The reason is that trains are more convenient and economical compared to the city bus service. For instance, one has to change two buses to reach Yeshwanthpur from Banaswadi, and it requires over one hour to reach the destination through traffic jams in the heart of the city.

However, trains will not be operated exclusively on these routes. Instead, passengers would have to use all trains presently running on these routes.

“We have plans to increase the number of trips, both up and down everyday on both routes, if there is more demand from the passengers,” Divisional Electrical Engineer (Traction) South Western Railways, Praveen Poddar said.

Electrification work will be taken up at the end of this year. “It requires 10 months to complete the work. Tentatively, the electric train service will commence in two years’ time,” Mr Poddar added.

Present Devanahalli Railway station???
http://irfca.org/gallery/Suburban/DMU/DSCN3481.jpg.html

Present Devanahalli Railway station???
http://irfca.org/gallery/Suburban/DMU/DSCN3481.jpg.html

Hi Tintin,
This is the CRS that was envisaged in the Blore master plan. A few days ago I had a post here on this issue with maps and all. There was no response so I finally pulled that down.

The route covers north blore pretty well and also extends south-east skirting the IT corridor. given that metro penetration into blore SE is going to be only considered in phase II, this could have served a important link in connecting BIA to SE Blore. This requires double laning and electrification of some tracks and upgradation of some facilities. Unfortunately, this years railway budget did measly little for this. for example the SBC Salem line got a paltry 1 lakh or so and SWR has only been issuing tenders for sheds and paint jobs and such on these lines.

I guess the hyderabad MMTS blunder (good network but no feeder services) does not inspire the powers that be in KN.

but that is on anvil and that is a positive. there even is a plan for integration with other servies. for example byapanahalli is planned to be a major hub for changing modes.
but these are just plans .......... the reality is metro seem to have this vision of blore mass transit dominated by them. may be that is a stance necessitated for PR given the kind of opposition they have faced thus far.

here is the map. i could have given you the kmz but i lost it.
yellow=metro (approx)
maroon=exisiting n/w: CRS to run on this.
blue = ORR
white= PRR

http://static.flickr.com/35/103813843_f998f3e16e_o.jpg

Will merge later with the Bangalore thread.

But this article makes interesting reading.

Wear your altitude
http://www.080mag.com/Plone/2006-03/article.2006-03-01.3198909745?cname=Real%20Estate

Bangalore’s tallest structure will stand amid the extreme glitz of UB City, set to become the hottest address in town.

UB City comprises of four major towers.

The tallest is the 17-storey-plus-ground UB Tower, built on an elevated podium and crowned with a 30m bronze-clad spire. Its total height of 128 m makes it the tallest structure in the city. A powerful beam of light will be projected skywards from the tip of the spire and can be seen from many kilometres away. It will prove the main attraction for airline passengers as their plane descends towards the airport. The interiors of the 7261.05 sqm office space within the tower will be designed to international standards. Dr Mallya’s office will be located on the topmost floor and will open onto a tropical garden. The podium on which the Tower rests will be camouflaged with a waterfall and all the cars that arrive at the entrance lobby will be valet-parked two floors below ground.

Forming a central space that measures a total of 1,27,053 sqm are: the 19-storey Concorde Tower, the 17-storey Canberra Tower, the 10-storey Comet Tower, a sprawling plaza on the fourth level of the entire complex, and colonnaded walkways measuring 3.5 meters. Gardens, fountains and food courts complete the picture, on the grounds and in the towers.
All the towers have multi-level parking space. Over 2,000 cars can be parked at UB City. There will be a helipad on Comet Tower

The Rs. 200 crore UB City will be inhabited by some of the biggest global players in the retail, finance, banking, software, biotech and service space.

The Manhattan look was Vijay Mallya’s concept. Architect Tom Thomas gave it shape, creating a microcosm of the New York skyline.

For more information read the article.

________________________________________

Another interesting news from the article is:

V G Sidhhartha, founder of the Cafe Coffee Day chain obtained a parcel of land from St Joseph’s on which the popular Tiffany’s Restaurant stood, bang opposite UB City to construct his corporate headquarters. The highrise with a distinct curvature will blend nicely with the new skyline.

________________________________________

UB City U/C picture

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5271/ubcittopisup3us.jpg

419'10" eh? Well, it's a significant leap forward for Bangalore's skyline, and indeed it's an improvement over the SCB Tower (which is rather unremarkable). Of course, Bangalore deserves more. Any news on the KSRTC Tower?

Also, when will this UB City be finished and opened to the public? I can't wait to see it finished, along with some of the other projects u/c in Bangalore like Lakeside Habitat etc.

Also, if this new tower is to be 128m with a 30m spire and 17 floors, then that translates to about 5.75m per floor, which is good, allowing for heat to rise up away from the occupants of each floor due to convection.

If the KSRTC Tower uses the same 5.75m/floor rule (if it's still on), then you can expect 258.75m or so (though the SSP diagram indicates it to be 150m).

I hope this opens the floodgates for 150-200m and beyond in Bangalore. Heck, why not go beyond 300m later on?

I guess I should consider starting a Bangalore Skyline thread in the ROS section once they finish work on this and Lakeside Habitat, as well as maybe a few others.

Its located near chinnaswamy stadium.

Work and watch free cricket!

:)

It will be nice to see a business district zone of highrises develop around a cricket stadium. Here, in North America, many cities have stadiums right in the heart of downtown. Hopefully this building can spur highrise activity in Bangalore especially with the huge number of firms coming into the city.

http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/02/stories/2006040216740100.htm
Quote:
Airport to cost Rs. 450 crore more
Air passenger traffic will go up to 11 million by 2008, says Yediyurappa
· The project cost may increase from Rs. 1,411 crore to Rs. 1,861.79 crore
· This will be met with additional debt

BANGALORE: The air terminal building has been redesigned to handle the increase in air passenger traffic at the Bangalore International Airport, which is expected to go up three times than the proposed four million by April 2008 when the airport will become operational. ...

Mr. Yediyurappa... said that earlier, it was planned to build one runway. But the expected increase in passenger traffic might require another runway.

He said the project cost might escalate from Rs. 1,411 crore to Rs. 1,861.79 crore. This will be met with additional debt and not by additional equity or State support. He said 13.5 per cent of the work on the airport has been completed. As much as 67 per cent of the work is expected to be completed by the yearend. ... He said the State's share of the project cost is Rs. 350 crore, which will not increase or decrease with change in the design. ...

Is it still on track to be completed by June 2006?

2020vision, it can easily spur such activity, and what remains to be seen is whether or not any and all new highrises will use high ceilings and thick floors like this one, in addition to spires.

For example, if the same 5.75m/floor rule is used (including the base and ceiling), then a 30-storey structure would be 172.5m/565'9.6", not including any spires, and a 45-storey structure, as mentioned before, would be 258.75m/848'8.4", again not including any spires.

This technique of using thick floors and high ceilings seems to be pretty commonplace in the Middle East (probably to help dissipate heat more efficiently). For example, the Burj-al-Arab in Dubai has a structural height of 321m including the spire and other structural features and is 200m to the roof, however it's 60 stories, due to the high spire (it's 3.33m per floor, on average). In Riyadh, the Kingdom Centre has a height of 302m, is 41 stories, and uses a clever technique to get past Riyadh's height restrictions: the top 1/3rd of it consists of a hole supporting a skybridge at level 41. From the diagram on SSP, I have inferred that it has 40 stories below the hole, and those levels have an average height of 4.5m.

Such tehcniques can and should be used in the Indian highrise construction industry, as per UB City Bangalore, the Burj-al-Arab, and the Kingdom Centre.

I also couldn't help but notice all the empty space between UB City and the Vveswarya Tower, so perhaps a bit of stuff can be done there, assuming that there are no heritage structures in the way (of course, if there is a heritage structure next to a really beat up wet carboard box, then the cardboard box should be destroyed and replaced, or better still, why not take over a beat-up cardboard box and build a highrise on top of it, effectively englufing siad beat-up cardboard box in coolness?)

And IMO someone should seriously consider adding some kind of cladding to the Viveswara tower and a spire too, for the sake of generally improving Bangalore's skyline. Perhaps they should also add a nice and tall (>300m) TV Tower and observation deck too.

I am very sure that it is on track. I will be going to Bangalore in june-august and will get personal tour like I did on last years trip. Hopefully! I had posted the pics of the model originally. Now I will finally get to see it complete!

http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/06/stories/2006040621890100.htm
-------------------------------------------------------
Bangalore metro put on the fast track

Union Cabinet approves recommendations made by Group of Ministers

Recommendations

States be given powers to legislate on the operation and maintenance of the projects
Commissioner of Railway Safety to have powers to issue safety certification for metro systems
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NEW DELHI: Paving the way for early clearance of the Bangalore metro project, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the recommendations of a Group of Ministers that State Governments be allowed to make the choice of selecting the gauge for metro rail projects.

It also recommended that the States be given powers to legislate on the operation and maintenance of the projects and that the institution of Commissioner of Railway Safety be strengthened so that it had the capacity to issue safety certification for metro systems as well...

Official sources told The Hindu that following the Cabinet's decision to accept the recommendations of the GoM, the process of approval for the Bangalore metro project should now "get on the fast track."

Urban transport policy

The Cabinet also approved the adoption of a National Urban Transport Policy, which seeks to incorporate urban transportation as an important parameter at the planning stage itself rather than as a consequential requirement, bring about a more equitable allocation of road space, with people rather than vehicles as its main focus and encourage greater use of public transport and non-motorised modes by offering Central financial assistance for the purposes.

The policy seeks to encourage integrated land use and transport planning in all cities so that travel distances are minimised

I am a little confused here with the long list of approvals and recommendations. If the Union Cabinet has approved the recommendations of GoM, does that not mean a final approval ? Who gives the final nod for the B'lore metro project and when can we expect to see the project underway ? Can someone shed some insight here ?

Thanks!

So far, the main issues of contension have been:
1) The gauge (Indian Railwyas wanted to impose broad guage, so they can have control)
2) Legislation/ policy/ act on operation & maintenance (like the Indian Railways act)
3) Authority to issue safety certification (central, state, railways, or new).

Hence the GoM has been formed by the Central Govt., to come up with a consensus. The GoM has agreed on most items, except the gauge. Laalu insisted to make broad gauge mandatory. So, GoM has left the decision on gauge to the cabinet committee.

This news item indicates that all the issues have been resolved.

Other standard approvals like pollution control, forest dept etc would have been already obtained.

So, the state govt can now obtain a financial closure (Japanese govt has already granted a huge loan for this project), call for tenders, find a builder and get it done!

Thanks Babji - so it looks like its all set to start soon. July-August ??? That would be nice!

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IE120060406110902&Title=Bangalore&Topic=0&
IT industry will grow and flourish in Bangalore: Kumaraswamy
Friday April 7 2006 00:00 IST

BANGALORE: Brushing aside sharp criticism on Bangalore's infrastructure by some IT giants, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday hoped that IT industry and brand Bangalore will grow, develop and flourish.

“The Government is very clear in its agenda. We will do everything within our means to maintain Bangalore's brand,'' he promised while addressing a three-day international conference on IT organised by World Customs Organisation here.

According to him, several measures had already been initiated by State Government to promote IT industry in the city. A high-tech city was coming up off Sarjapur Road and an Electronic Hardware Park was getting ready in the vicinity of the new Bangalore International Airport at Devenahalli, he said. Earth stations and incubation centres were also being built in satellite towns around the city, he added.

“Unfortunately, Bangalore's infrastructure is being equated with problems associated with road and traffic'' he said adding that in other areas Bangalore's infrastructure was more than adequate. He especially highlighted the power scenario where the reliability factor on power supply had been enhanced to 99.01 per cent and said “no other metropolitan city in the country can compete with these figures''.

Efforts were on to further improve reliability factor of power supply to 99.68 per cent, he said adding that the government would soon receive assistance from Japan Bank of International Cooperation for this purpose.

He said more than Rs 500 crore had been spent on improving power distribution. Similarly another Rs 3384 crore had been received as loan from JBIC for augmenting water supply to the city.

He said fruits of development should spread to other cities in the state also and government was upgrading infrastructure in tier two cities such as Mysore, Hubli, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Belgaum, Mangalore and Hassan to encourage IT industry tap talent pool there, he added

Development plan for Greater Bangalore

One of the first steps envisaged under the NURM is the preparation of a City Development Strategy Plan (CDSP) identifying the infrastructure gaps and investment plans over the next 5-7 years.

The sectors where infrastructure gap has been perceived and assessed in Bangalore urban agglomerate area are:

Water and wastewater
Storm water drain network
Solid waste management
Road network
Urban transport
Environment management
Information infrastructure

The reforms already in place in Bangalore are:
Repeal of Urban Land Ceiling Act
Programmed reduction of stamp duty
Property tax reforms
Fund-based accounting
Community participation
PPP model in service provisioning
Automated citizen delivery mechanisms (being upgraded)

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1482514.cms

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/373/bloremysore1ib.th.jpg (http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bloremysore1ib.jpg)

Bangalore - mysore expressway??

they should develop some greenery within those interchanges and on the divider.

Bangalore - mysore expressway??
Yes

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?ID=IE120060406110902&Title=Bangalore&Topic=0&
IT industry will grow and flourish in Bangalore: Kumaraswamy
Friday April 7 2006 00:00 IST


“Unfortunately, Bangalore's infrastructure is being equated with problems associated with road and traffic'' he said adding that in other areas Bangalore's infrastructure was more than adequate. He especially highlighted the power scenario where the reliability factor on power supply had been enhanced to 99.01 per cent and said “no other metropolitan city in the country can compete with these figures''.

That's a big laugh. More than 60% of private firms in Bangalore have installed power generators of their own. This summer, powers cuts, trips have become quite common despite the govt crowing last year that after the record rainfall all over Karnataka the power situation would be comfortable.

Not a single day passes without power cuts in Bangalore. There is a standard "Public Inconvenience" column in all newspapers where BESCOM anounces power cuts for many hours in many parts of the city. This is the capital city. In the rest of Karnataka the power situation is pathetic.

HDK should check his facts before making such bogus claims.

99% power hahahaha

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/373/bloremysore1ib.th.jpg (http://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bloremysore1ib.jpg)

Bangalore - mysore expressway??


I would assume that one of the roads is the expressway. Which is the other? Is it the outer ring road?

They both look like expressways

That's a big laugh. More than 60% of private firms in Bangalore have installed power generators of their own. This summer, powers cuts, trips have become quite common despite the govt crowing last year that after the record rainfall all over Karnataka the power situation would be comfortable.

Not a single day passes without power cuts in Bangalore. There is a standard "Public Inconvenience" column in all newspapers where BESCOM anounces power cuts for many hours in many parts of the city. This is the capital city. In the rest of Karnataka the power situation is pathetic.

HDK should check his facts before making such bogus claims.

99% power hahahaha


I guess what he meant was "There is a 99.01 % chance that you WILL have a power cut everyday!" :rofl:

I would assume that one of the roads is the expressway. Which is the other? Is it the outer ring road?

They both look like expressways
Other one most likely is Bangalore Peripheral Road

I began writing up then realized, one pic is worth a thousand words:
http://www.nicelimited.com/Phase1.jpg


Note there are two peripheral roads planned for b'lore.
1. BMIC Peripheral Road-BMICPR and
2. BDA Peripheral Road -BDAPR.

BMICPR- private (toll)
BDAPR - sarkaari (free)

The BDAPR will circumscribe the entire city and will be approx 110 kms.
The BMICPR is currently only a semi circle that connects major radial roads on west, south and east blore.
They have ideas about adding a North-South alignment Devanahalli ARPT to the eastern end of BMICPR - (think of a sickle). But all this is subject to clearance and all

BDAPR - still acquiring land(advanced stages). no construction
BMICPR- land acquired by Govt-but not all needed land given to BMIC, construction in advanced stages.

Circular BDAPR encircles semi-circular BMICPR.
BMICPR is outside the existing circular Outer Ring Road(ORR).
ORR encircles an exisitng quarter circle road called IRR.
IRR will be outer to the proposed circular Core Ring Road (CRR).

BDAPR plans to support 5 bus depots and 5 truck terminals.
BMICPR is also planning truck and bus depots.

thanks for the renderings, vadi.
is this a proposed plan or final?
do they have any time line?

yuo are welcome

if you are interested, i will post the google earth alignments of all these roads.
mebbe by friday.

most of these alignments are by now fixed.
they are getting lands.
interestingly it seems people are are ready to give lands for roads but they have some trouble giving up land for truck and bus terminals. :)

yuo are welcome

if you are interested, i will post the google earth alignments of all these roads.
mebbe by friday.

most of these alignments are by now fixed.
they are getting lands.
interestingly it seems people are are ready to give lands for roads but they have some trouble giving up land for truck and bus terminals. :)

that'll be great. please do post.
this is interesting. is there any specific reason, why they don't like truck and bus terminals?

Fantastic news for banglore
SC Clears NICE Project(Bangalore Mysore Expressway)
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=SC+clears+Bangalore-Mysore+highway+project&id=87078

Let us hope it takes off now atleast :)-

Existing and proposed ring roads in B'lore and some of the major radial roads.
http://static.flickr.com/56/132046117_672d653caa_o.jpg

Existing and proposed ring roads in B'lore and some of the major radial roads.
http://static.flickr.com/56/132046117_672d653caa_o.jpg
Wonderful Vadi! thanks many.

the BDAPR and BMIC-PR will make the new airport easily accessible to entire B'lore.

times of india Saturday edition... Do you think we mite see this in the near future??

Monorails on expressway?

Monorails on expressway?
The Times of India

Bangalore: Mysore in 45 minutes, and at a fraction of the cost travelling the same distance by your car. That’s a possibility if Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise’s (NICE) plans for a monorail along its Bangalore-Mysore expressway works out.

A NICE spokesperson said the company is in advanced stage of discussions with three potential monorail operators for implementing the project. The plan is to have monorails running on the expressway, as also on NICE’s outer peripheral road that connects Tumkur Road with Hosur Road via Mysore Road.

If the company is allowed to extend the Peripheral Road to do an entire circle of the city, the monorail could even connect the up-coming international airport in Devanahalli.

The company says the monorail could become a great alternative for the masses — those unable to pay the tolls on the road — and equally for those who do not want to use their personal vehicles.

“The latest high-speed monorails run at speeds of 180-200 km/hour. And they could complete the expressway’s 110 km distance in 45 minutes,” says the NICE official.

Implementing the NICE monorail project is also expected to be significantly simpler and more cost effective than what is being proposed for monorail systems within Bangalore city. That’s because NICE’s monorail would run at the road level, not on stilts. The expressway median is 15 metre wide and the Peripheral Road median is 11.5 metre wide. That is seen to be sufficient to run a two-way monorail system.

Stations and multi-storeyed car parks are proposed to be set up at each interchange on the expressway and the Peripheral Road. On the Peripheral Road, the interchanges are present wherever the road intersects major existing roads like Hosur Road, Bannerghatta Road, Kanakapura Road, Mysore Road, Magadi Road and Tumkur Road. On the expressway, the interchanges are present at towns along the way.

thanks for the news Tintin27.

"...The latest high-speed monorails run at speeds of 180-200 km/hour...
... NICE’s monorail would run at the road level, not on stilts..."

this is amazing. monorail traction mechanism involves heavy duty tyres, as agains steel wheels in rail based MRTS systems. Most monorail systems run at medium speed (25-40MPH) with low-medium passenger capacity (2-4 cars of 20-40capacity). usually, the operating cost is more than the rail based MRTS, and hence the fare.

If this new system is really feasible and cost effective, this will predominate the MRTS systems for the future metro transit systems.

You are right, i checked the monorail.org website and see that most are around 70mph ~110 kph range. even cos like seimens, hitachi, mitsubhsishi think of monorails in that range.
The guy heading the BMIC Kheny "made his million" in the USA.
Here are some monorail cos in the US that do that kind of speed he's talking about.
Owen Transit Groups Silver Bullet says can do 200mph (http://www.otg-inc.com/Bullet%20Spex.html)
Follow links on that page for layouts and some specs.

Bombardier Intercity Trains-200 kph (http://www.bombardier.com/index.jsp)
This one seems more of a proven tech and has already been done in a few cities in western europe, china and uzbekistan. Check on that project at the right side of the page. most trains are 150-200 kph range.
has more tech details.
on the bombardier.com site follow rail vehicles link for more ideas.

the other group we know he was talking to was metrail.
they donot seem to have the tech for the speeds he's talking about.

do you how much alll these might cost?

200 kmph sounds a bit strange. I dont think any monorails anywhere in the world goes this fast.. But having a High speed train is very very much possibility as the tracks will be built within the Expressway premises which means its access controlled and no crossing watsoever unlike the indian railways who will have to fence tracks, build overpasses/underpasses for ppl crossing tracks before running 200kph trains.... So high speed train very likely but monorail in that speed, thats confusing

babji,
about airport connectivity i dont know.
the main connecting road is NH7. it is being quietly upgraded. check google earth images and you see wide and long swathes of construction.

but then this is the primary connector with no load sharing roads. already mekhri circle is congested. it takes ORR+NH7+blorewest+cbd passenger and goods traffic. to this if you add 16k airport traffic(16k x 365 ~ 6mil/year) + all the movement due to development in blore-north, god knows.

to be sure there is a rail link along this, that connect blore west, cbd and blore east(itpl and whitefield). but nobody has shown interest in running local trains in this sector.

BMIC-PR has no reach and BDA-PR is non existent. the day the northern component of BDA-PRR gets built it will be choked.

realistically, i have no hopes for adding the northern component to the BMIC.

BMIC is a project that will depend on the pull that towns and townships in the blore-mysore region in the SW can exert on blore. This is countered by a huge part by the airport in the north.

well,
otg and bomardier talk of hard rubber tires. so idunno not an expert.
mebbe if he says rail then that would lead to hassles with IR so our man says monorails.

cost comparison.
reference:
blore-mys train costs upwards of Rs. 25. ~3-3.5 hrs.
single track. all trains stop for crossing. only shatbdi and one more train have unhindered access.

blore-mys bus costs upwards of ~ Rs. 50. ~2.5-3.0 hrs.

reality, people skip buses and take trains. heavy rush. road is also "full".

all this talk about super fast trains and stuff like that: i don't think india ready for that yet.

all this talk about super fast trains and stuff like that: i don't think india ready for that yet.

ok

all this talk about super fast trains and stuff like that: i don't think india ready for that yet.

I beg to differ: India needs them mroe than anything else, so as to improve the quality of its massive railway system (Which is in dire need of upgrades).

And don't forget that ultra-high-sped trains, as in 500km/h+, can theoretically compete with air travel over short distances and is better for the environment, assuming the power generated for the system is generated in a clean manner, by way of solar fields, windmills, etc.

i agree Naga. but that is over the long term, may be by 2020. for now, they should concentrate on increasing the average speed on all routes over 200 km to 120 Km/hr.

Japan got its first bullet train in 1960. 220km. They were not world second economy then either.

Japanese work ethics and culture are much diff from that of ours...

nearly 58 years after independence, IR (Shatabdi Express) has attained a speed of 150KMPH - it was a big deal.
--------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=10232
Lalu Yadav flags off India's fastest train
... The fastest ever train in India—New Delhi and Agra Shatabdi Express—running at a speed of 150 km per hour, was today flagged off by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav from the New Delhi Railway Station...

magestom,
India was building cars(HM) from 1950.Today japanese and koreans help us to build cars and other automobiles.
In 1950 Japan was still in ashes. Do we need to say where the japanese are today in terms of automobile manufacturing.

Most maglev technologies, including the one in Shanghai, can technically be classified as monorails. I guess that is what is being referred to as high speed monorail. I don't personally see this coming up with purely private capital - if it all it comes up, it will involve significant Government subsidies and a recognition that it will not make money for some time to come. But of course, it would be a huge infrastructural leap for the Bangalore-Mysore corridor in particular and Bangalore in general.

Shanghai Maglev goes at 450-512km per hour!

Most maglev technologies, including the one in Shanghai, can technically be classified as monorails. I guess that is what is being referred to as high speed monorail. I don't personally see this coming up with purely private capital - if it all it comes up, it will involve significant Government subsidies and a recognition that it will not make money for some time to come. But of course, it would be a huge infrastructural leap for the Bangalore-Mysore corridor in particular and Bangalore in general.

High speed trains wont work well in india because of very high maintenance.. Japan has bullet trains but they also charge like Airlines (if not more!) for travelling on them. Not many ppl will be able to afford them here. Secondly, U have to build high speed, dedicated track fully with full fencing as well as very high starndard signalling system. In india, the driver still has to watch for a signal where as u get notified when to stop/slowdown on the dashboard of the driver abroad.. thirdly, what is the use of building highspeed tracks for running trains of around 250kph, when it will take us decades to build the tracks and when there are already trains running over 300kph elsewhere around the world.. you cannot run a 400kph train on a track made for 250kph..
Maglev is the only solution for highspeed trains around the world and few countries are working on tests.. I think India should also be researching on Maglev, which can run on indian condition and also maybe get involved with foreign consertiums researching on maglevs.. After all if there is a maglev service from say bangalore to mumbai, why would ppl pay so much on a 250kph train where this one will easily mroe than 500kph.... Maglev is currently very expensive to build but in long term its much cheaper than traditional high speed tracks, mainly because of the contactless atmosphere it uses to travel... So, the cost of travelling can be subsidised knowing the long term benefits

Construction of Residential Towers for Prestige Shantiniketan Township in Bangalore (20060331)


http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2645/soulspacebig7po.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6396/currentmajorprestigetown1l7fe.jpg
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5808/currentmajorprestigetown2l6rv.jpg

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9716/currentmajorprestigetown4l9ey.jpg

http://www.prestigeconstructions.com/shantiniketan/photogallery.htm

such super fast trains are going to prove disastrous for our culture, even in the cities. we should follow the same bottom-up formula. increase the avg. speed for all major sections of the country to 120-150 kmph.

pding,
i did not understand your statement about super fast trains affecting our culture. can you explain.

with BIAL going to devanahalli in north and ITPL to whitefield east, i think for BMIC it is more of a business decision than a fancy.
It may not be super fast trains. but fast trains on bmic will actually improve the BMIC prospects.

for everybody it's gonna be a disaster when they see a super-fast train flying right by the side of a main road, for example. i wouldn't be surprised if ppl start protesting, saying "what if the damn bridge falls off, and this train falls on the road."

also, it will be over-investment if we go for super fast trains at this stage. expect for the fact that we can show off, it's neither practical and nor required.

I suspect that high speed railway may never be implemented in India due to the economics of it. I dont think our constraint is our technology, or our ability to build the required infrastructure.

Inter city: high speed railway, given its huge infrastructure, maintenance, and operational costs, would not be able to complete with low cost avaition.
Intra city: high speed railway can only be implemented for point to point non-stop access. That may not make sense for most Indian cities.

But airport access is an interesting scenario. If all airlines have a city check in capability, then there could be a good business case for this. But the airport would have to be extremely far off for people to feel like NOT wanting to use the road.

Speaking of Highspeed, this is what I found from NEw Indian Express
This is from SKYTRAN website..
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/7861/skytran6bx.th.jpg (http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skytran6bx.jpg)

Alternative to Metro showcased
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Even as the Government has decided to go ahead with the Metro rail project, a group of city engineers has come up with a faster and cheaper system to solve Bangalore’s traffic problems.

Named Sky Tran, the system is the brainchild of Douglas Malewicki of US. The system involves elevated guideways on which small, computer-controlled, magnetically elevated vehicles provide point-to-point on-demand transit service.

Sky Tran vehicles can travel at a speed of 100 miles an hour within the city and at 150 miles an hour between cities. It costs a tenth of a light train, and one guideway is equal to a three-lane freeway. Further, the system uses electricity and is virtually noiseless and eliminates the possibility of surface traffic collisions. The Sky Tran project, however, has remained a dream since 1990 as no Government has come forward to implement it. This is what provoked Stanley Ravi, who was working as a studio manager with UAE Air Force, to come down to Bangalore five years ago. He started looking for a team of engineers to build a prototype.

Since then Stanly has teamed up with engineers Rajashekar, Nagaraj and Anand. They are building a prototype of the Sky Tran model for the first time in the world, currently being assembled at Precise Engineering Models at Chowdeswarinagar.

The project head says he wants to produce many prototypes of Sky Tran to draw public and government attention to the unique system. The group has pooled in its savings and also received contributions from the public.

The unique system will have citywide off-line stops where you can board a waiting vehicle at the head of a queue. The destination can be selected with the help of a display menu or by voice activation, and payments can be made by credit card or a RFID device.

Before departure, sensors will determine the dynamic position of all oncoming Sky Tran vehicles on the high speed guide-way. At a precisely calculated moment, the off-line vehicle will accelerate and merge safely with mainline traffic. Once on-line, the vehicles go non-stop till the destination is reached.

UniModal Incorporated in Montana, USA, owns the key enabling technologies of the Sky Tran system.

ideas one fancier than the other.
hey but atleast the man puts his money where his mouth is.

oth BMTC is trying real stuff right here right now.
direction based grid routes. local shuttles. bio fuels. distribution and stuff like that. its the one of the few govt agencies that is seen to be trying to innovate.

rest are all crooks. the mayor wants to wash streets. meanwhile thousands of gallons of tertiary processed water(almost portable quality) is going down the drains because another agency does not want to lay pipes. then people build on watersheds and throw crap in it and then complain of clogged streets.

bda tried to streamline tendering process and the whole idea promptly got court stayed by the contractor lobby.

bda lays roads and right next day like the neighbourhood rat in gutter, BSWWB comes and digs up. people violate bye laws and BMP snores.

the other sustainable idea in blore is the swabhimana movement of koramangala, malleshwaram etc. and the janaagraha type groups.
but it is a pity, these guys have to do what the govt agencies are paid for.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/28/stories/2006042824640100.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Centre gives green signal to Bangalore Metro Rail project

... The Union Cabinet on Thursday finally gave the green signal for the much-awaited Bangalore Metro Rail Project.

The project would have a debt-equity ratio of 70:30. The Centre and the Karnataka Government would contribute to the equity portion, each providing 15 per cent equity...

Govind D. Belgaumkar reports from Bangalore: Work on the biggest infrastructure project to decongest Bangalore's roads "can now actually begin" with the Union Cabinet approving the metro rail project.

The BMRC, which is implementing the project to provide 36.5 km of urban rail network, "can now start spending money," BMRC sources told The Hindu...

The project provides for two lines - one from Jalahalli Circle to R.V. Teachers' College in Jayanagar, and the other from Mysore Road to Byappanahalli...

The JBIC had pointed out that the problem of traffic congestion was serious with the population of Bangalore (over 60 lakhs now) doubling in over the past two decades...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangalore Metro gets cabinet nod
[ Friday, April 28, 2006 12:03:22 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

...S Jaipal Reddy said the Rs 6,395-crore project, to be completed by 2011, would cover a length of 33 km in two corridors...

Congratulations, BLR folks!
there are several positive aspects with this MRTS plan:
1. Its a DMRC like model - partly underground, partly surface, mostly elevated
2. No monorail hassel - its rail based - efficient, economical, affordable
3. this approval is like attaining financial closure - so they can now call tenders for actual works.
4. originally planned only east-west corridor, now they got north-south also.
5. BLR may as well be the first metro in south to have the (new) MRTS operational (by 2011).
* * * * *

Babji.............This is a great news for Blore. Sooner they get the financial closure the better. Pretty soon, Bangalorians will zip from UB city to suburbs in no time. :cheers:

Thats right, Hindustani!.
I hope,Hyd folks will also look at the affordability factor and think of an underground rail based MRTS for Sec'bad - Narayanaguda- Charminar - Falknuma corridor, as against a monorail model.

Great news regarding Bangalore's metro. Hope its implemented soon and Bangalore's infrastructure can boast of a new airport and a metro system.

A truly well deserved breakthrough for Bangalore.

babji,
they have always spoken of both north-south and east-west corridors.
now all attention on CMH road and kuvempu road traders.



Congratulations, BLR folks!
there are several positive aspects with this MRTS plan:
1. Its a DMRC like model - partly underground, partly surface, mostly elevated
2. No monorail hassel - its rail based - efficient, economical, affordable
3. this approval is like attaining financial closure - so they can now call tenders for actual works.
4. originally planned only east-west corridor, now they got north-south also.
5. BLR may as well be the first metro in south to have the (new) MRTS operational (by 2011).
* * * * *

The cost of maglev is pretty high. There are plans to build a bigger airport here in San Diego and one of the proposals involved a high-speed maglev to a remote desert site where there is ample space and the airport authority wouldn't have to deal with 15 years of lawsuits, but the cost of the maglev and infrastructure improvements is likely going to rule that site out.

- KC

Can any one post a fare comparison btn rail based MRTS and Monorail from any location please.

case 1:
PATH train (Newark Penn stn - WTC ~ 20 mile) single ride fare: $1.50.
Monorail (Newark Intl Air Port train stn - Newrk Intl Airport ~ 5 mile) single ride fare: $5.00

babji,
that would be unfair comparison simply because the network sizes are not even comparable. may be we should look at japanese rates.

Could any one post some comparative study from Japan/ Malyasia/anywhere please.

ps: Honestly, I am not against monorail in a personal way.
but I sincerely beleive that an average Indian has to pay heavily for generations to come, for this technology.
Once they commit, they have to go with it and also have to expand for future needs.
This is indeed a major decision, from the personal commuting expenses point of view.
(majority of regular commuters are those who do not drive or who do not want to drive for various reasons, including economics). I know several people who own a personal car (as in not sharing with any family member) and still commute by local trains/Metro/MRTS to work. This may or may not apply to all locations - but still a point of consideration. (reasons: gas (petrol), tolls, parking, traffic etc - mostly economics).

Hot summer day temperatures are another factor which could impact the efficiency of this system in Southern states. It uses hard rubber tires with pneumatically controlled traction. three sets of tires move on three sides (top, left and right) of the monorail (usually made of steel or RCC, which could absorb heat).

if you travel to airport to catch a flight once in a while, you don't feel the pinch.
if you travel to work 5 days a week, every thing counts
(most employers do not reimburse commuting expenses).

Could any one post some comparative study from Japan/ Malyasia/anywhere please.

ps: Honestly, I am not against monorail in a personal way.
but I sincerely beleive that an average Indian has to pay heavily for generations to come, for this technology.
Once they commit, they have to go with it and also have to expand for future needs.
This is indeed a major decision, from the personal commuting expenses point of view.
(majority of regular commuters are those who do not drive or who do not want to drive for various reasons, including economics). I know several people who own a personal car (as in not sharing with any family member) and still commute by local trains/Metro/MRTS to work. This may or may not apply to all locations - but still a point of consideration. (reasons: gas (petrol), tolls, parking, traffic etc - mostly economics).

Hot summer day temperatures are another factor which could impact the efficiency of this system in Southern states. It uses hard rubber tires with pneumatically controlled traction. three sets of tires move on three sides (top, left and right) of the monorail (usually made of steel or RCC, which could absorb heat).

if you travel to airport to catch a flight once in a while, you don't feel the pinch.
if you travel to work 5 days a week, every thing counts
(most employers do not reimburse commuting expenses).

babji interesting points.
IMO its quite alright even if you are dead against the mono. :) this is just a forum. most of us have no control over what really happens and i'll be surprised if any does.

I have no real knowledge on this tech but I think heat factor should be ok. malayasia and singapore may not be much different from chennai. infact they are much closer to the equator.

the cost aspect is tricky.
monos might draw relatively lesser power than heavier metros. so my hypothesis is if all other conditions remains monos will prolly cost less.
also for me the most attractive feature of mono is the short turn around time and little land acquisition for the tracks. stations might be another ball game.
also for the same initial cost you'll prolly get more coverage with monos than other rail systems.
they donot not have the capacity of metros. (that is why i was asking about how much/what 10000pphd mean). but if you have grided systems could you distribute the load and hence increase the capacity?

in the end you can trust indian people to be wise with their pockets.
they are unforgiving in showing an errant bussiness its place. if the monos cannot compete with buses, mrts etc they will be forced to shut shop and most these project will be on a BOOT or DBOOT which means bussinesses have to make it attractive for people for them to make money. this has to be a large volume low margin pricing. low volume high margin stuff aint going to cut it.

also ultimately there are no silver bullets, they hav eto control urban sprawl. cannot encourage people travelling long distances everyday - not only is it uneconomical but it is also unsafe.

weak arguments to the serious questions you asked.

Thanks Vadi. you have raised some valid points. any argument is welcome. that is the spirit of the forum.
also, let us see if any other forumers have any views/inputs on this.

New hotel opens in B’lore
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr272006/business187292006426.asp

A new five star business hotel ‘The Chancery Pavilion’ opened its doors to domestic/global business traveller on Wednesday.

Set up at a total cost of Rs 120 crore, the 234 room, five star hotel, with underground parking for 200 cars, will provide its guests a day use room at Rs 6,500 as against mandatory charge of one room night.

TOI has a report on blore metro today. all of phrase 1 will be done by 2011..

Malaysia - Kaula Lumpur city trains - a comparative study
http://www.malaysia.alloexpat.com/malaysia_information/railway_train_malaysia.php
KTM Komuter: an urban transit system operates more than 200 trains
Fares begin at RM 1 and rise to a max of RM 7.7.
------------------------------------------------
The PUTRA Line operates with 35 two-car units traveling at an average of 40 kmph.
Fares begin at RM 0.70 and rise to a max of RM 2.50 per single trip
-----------------------------------------------
STAR (light rail system)
Fares: from RM 0.70 to RM 2.60 per single trip
----------------------------------------------
KL Monorail: With 12 numbers of 2-car trains. Travel time along the 8.6km route: approx 19 min.
Fare ranges from RM1.20 to RM2.50 per single trip.
---------------------------------------------
Monorail appears to be covering a shorter distance, yet with a higher sigle trip fare.
The other city train systems are covering a longer distance for a lower single trip fare.

you should post this in the thread started in the Chaibar. Come on, we may not be from Bangalore, but we certainly arent inferior.

you should post this in the thread started in the Chaibar. Come on, we may not be from Bangalore, but we certainly arent inferior.
Hi Kronik, I did post a little more detailed study in the thread started in Chaibar.
I just put an abridged version here, for continuation purpose and to bring the topic to a logical close in this thread.
I tried not to make it look like pertaining to any particular city like B'lore.
We are all Indian first. and yes, I agree, we will continue further postings and discussions on this topic in the thread at Chaibar. Regards.

NewIndpress.com
Metro not the only solution to city’s traffic congestion: CM

BANGALORE: The Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday said Metro rail is not the only solution for City’s traffic congestion.

He was speaking at the launch of KSRTC Any Where Any Time Advanced Reservation (AWATAR) system, an online passenger reservation system. He said there is a great challenge in developing Bangalore transportation system. Metro rail covers only 34 kilometres.

The city owned BMTC, which has equal responsibility should go hand in hand with Metro rail to provide a better transportation facility. BMTC needs to provide over 150 kilometres inter-connectivity in the city, he added.

CM also said 10 per cent of the KSRTC AWATAR counters should be given to the physically challenged.

Dear Bangalore boarders,

Iam a chennai boarder and generally post my opinons only on Chennai board. But iam here to post my displeasure at the language used by this boarder by the name "Pding" who visits all other boards including Chennai's. He may not have used such language on this board. But if situation arises he can give into using foul language. I strongly request you guys to boycott his comments unless he gives an unconditional apology on all boards

Dear Bangalore boarders,

Iam a chennai boarder and generally post my opinons only on Chennai board. But iam here to post my displeasure at the language used by this boarder by the name "Pding" who visits all other boards including Chennai's. He may not have used such language on this board. But if situation arises he can give into using foul language. I strongly request you guys to boycott his comments unless he gives an unconditional apology on all boards

when a particular discussion originated in a particular thread, it can be either limited to that particular thread, or can be taken to a general thread such as those at CHAIBAR forum and invite suggestions/advice from other members.
Why get personal and spread such feelings all over??
Please try and find a resolution if there is a conflict :)

Since some people here were interested...
looks like they were working on it all the time....
original article in may 2 2006 vijaytimesepaper.com
edited version courtesy: bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com

Majestic plan may take off in Nov
Bidders for KSRTC s dream project shortlisted
Vijay Times

The Karnataka State Road T ransport Corporation’s (KSRTC) dream project of re-modelling the Majestic bus stand into a 45-storey complex at a cost of Rs 700 crore to decongest Kempegowda Bus Station is set to take off, with the construction slated to start by Oct/ Nov this year .

KSRTC sources told Vijay Times that construction groups - Reliance, Zurong, Siemens and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services - have been shortlisted. They have submitted their conceptual design for the project and the selected group will be announced shortly . The contract is likely to be awarded to either one or two construction groups, it is learnt.

At present, modalities such as environmental clearance and final concept designs are being looked into. The project construction will coincide with that of the Metro Rail project.

The KSRTC authorities have also held discussions with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) as well Indian Railways to co-ordinate the plan as the mega project will house all the three modes of transport.

The inter-modal transit centre will serve as one of its kind transport hub for the City ensuring commuters have all modes of transit systems at their disposal. The State-run corporation received responses from over 25 consortia which submitted their expression of interest to develop the project on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis. Bidders were selected after global tenders for pre-qualification procedure inviting ’Expressions of Interest’ were called on July 12, 2005.

Major construction conglomerates such as Zurong from Singapore, Larsen and T oubro, Mantri Developers, H M Constructions, Shirke Constructions, Prestige Group , Gammon India, Soma Constructions and Classic Group , among others, had initially taken the bid documents.

The bid closed in December last year , after which the consortia submitted their request for proposals (RFQs).


Futuristic

The re-modelled bus terminus is planned to be built as a futuristic landmark with a 45-storey tower , 25 lakh sq ft of commercial space, underground bus terminus, parking facilities for 5,000 cars and 10,000 twowheelers, tunnel subways for pedestrians, a terrace helipad, star hotels, an amphitheatre, shopping centres, food courts, browsing centres, rest rooms and other public utilities.

can't believe this piece of news from may2 2006 vijaytimesepaper.com.
why would anybody do this? in this age, given banaglore's real estate?
edited source bangalorebuzz.blogspot.com

A GENEROUS ACT
Vijay Times

Afew residents of Kottanur Dinne and Puttenahalli in the City have done what residents of other areas would not even have dreamt of doing.

They have surrendered their land to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), even before being asked for it.

Interestingly , over 200 people have parted with their lands and have not claimed any compensation for the same.

The residents, officials say , have become trend-setters.

While the BDA seems to have found favour with the public, the BCC seems to be at the receiving end.

It may be recalled that the BCC was having a tough time implementing the T ransferable Development Rights ( TDR), its ambitious road-widening project as the public and the police were not extending co-operation to it in this regard.

A 9 km stretch connecting Puttenahalli with Jambusavari Dinne of Kottanur, which was once a battered road, will be widened to 60 ft from the existing 40 ft by the BDA.

The public have given 10 ft of their land on either side of the road.

Health Minister and Bangalore District in-charge Minister R Ashok said that the public had volunteered to provide the land without claiming any compensation.

The Minister said that the work was being executed by the BDA and that it would cost Rs 12 crore.

The BDA had originally planned to develop the road by asphalting it. When the residents came forward to give their land, widening work was also taken up, Ashok said.

Residents of areas in and around Puttenahalli, Ganesh Mandir , Jambusavari Dinne and Kothanur are happy that their move has helped thousands of vehicle users.

The residents have expressed pleasure at having been able to provide land for the purpose as it would benefit over 2 lakh people.

The residents gave their land following a series of meetings with BDA officials.

"Some of the land along the Puttenahalli lake belongs to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the Forest Department and the Lake Development Authority (LDA). If they also donate their land, the project will continue smoothly ," said Mohanraj, a resident of Puttenahalli.

"No pressure was exerted on the public on this issue. They have become role models for others by donating their land and co-operating with the officials concerned," BDA official Lakshminarasimhaiah said.

The road would be developed in two phases.

In the first phase, a 3.5 km stretch between Puttenahalli Ring Road and Ganesh Mandir would be developed at a cost of Rs 3.44 crore.

Under the second phase, A 5.5 km stretch that passes through Ganesh Mandir, Konanakunte, Jambusavari Dinne and Kanakapura Road would be developed, the official said.

"Work on drains have been taken up. It will be completed by September 2006," he added.

some context to this piece

IT boom has hit middle class hard, says Kumaraswamy

The Hindu

`They are unable to cope with the skyrocketing land prices and unaffordable cost of living'

# IT growth has made the city almost unaffordable for native Bangaloreans
# Rs. 12-crore grant for sanitation in the Peenya Industrial Estate to be approved on May 9
# Government to check requirements before sanctioning land for companies

Bangalore: The boom in information technology has had its own adverse effects. It has put to hardship the families belonging to the middle class and the lower middle class, which are unable to cope with the skyrocketing land prices and the unaffordable cost of living, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said here on Monday.

Addressing the valedictory function of the silver jubilee celebrations of the Peenya Industries Association, he said that though IT had witnessed an unprecedented growth in the city, it has made the place almost unaffordable for native Bangaloreans whose very existence had become difficult.

The Government was looking into strategies to better this situation. The business establishments should necessarily look at diverting from Bangalore and going to places such as Dharwad, Mangalore and Mysore.

Lauding his father and president of the Janata Dal (Secular) H.D. Deve Gowda, on his vision to come up with the Ring Road, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that this has decongested traffic in the city to a significant extent. He also complemented him for bringing in seven tmcft of Cauvery water to Bangalore without which there would have been a severe water crisis.

"When the IT companies rebelled for their demands, the Government charted out measures to meet their needs, but the Peenya Industrial Estate has silently suffered for about 25 years now. Though business in Peenya amounts to a significant Rs. 15,000 crore, and Rs. 6,000 crore on export, many of the demands have remained unfulfilled," the Chief Minister said.

He said that the Rs. 12 crore grant for sanitation in the Peenya Industrial Estate would be approved on May 9. On losing the Fab City project to Hyderabad, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that he wanted the project to come up not in Bangalore but at Nanjangud as it would result in more and more congestion.

He said that business establishments, which seek thousands of acres of land, cannot have it sanctioned. The Government will check on the requirements and sanction only what is needed. He said that the plans for the peripheral Ring Road with 24 lanes are in progress.

He condemned the illegal mining activities in Bellary. He said based on the report, which would be out in a week, stringent action would be taken against those involved.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare R. Ashok said that for the overall development of the city, all the city municipal councils should be under one roof, that is the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike.


anecdotal context: 2BR Apt in Indiranagar>60 lakhs.

meanwhile others in the field play the waiting game...

City realtors play the waiting game
Deccan Herald

With the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli getting set for a 2008 opening, the coming months could see the realty market in the region running a virtual gold rush. And the potential starts right from the RT Nagar neighbourhood.

For a realty belt that is redefining boom, it’s ironical that the stretch from Hebbal to Devanahalli is dotted by signboards saying, “This property is not for sale.” On one level, they are a pointer to the still largely untapped real estate potential of the belt. On another, they tell you that it’s the waiting game that fetches the best price.

With the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli getting set for a 2008 opening, the coming months could see the realty market in the region running a virtual gold rush. And the potential starts right from the RT Nagar neighbourhood.

“This has always been a preferred residential area of the City. And ever since the airport project kicked off, the prices have seen a substantial rise,” says property dealer Manoj Reddy. According to him, the last couple of years have seen land prices rise over 150-200 per cent, especially in areas closer to Hebbal. Closer to Bangalore, and yet within the airport belt. This seems to be the priority for individual investors in the Hebbal–Devanahalli stretch. Big-time developers are lying low — waiting for the run-up to the airport to gather steam — before announcing their big projects in the belt.

The smaller players, meanwhile, are trying to cash in on proposed government projects in the area, including an electronics hardware park and a couple of apparel parks. “Yelahanka, which was considered outskirts a couple of years ago, is seeing a lot of real estate development after the airport project started,” says property dealer Lokesh.

He says middle-income couples form a major chunk of his clientele. “They don’t want to move farther from the City and want to make the purchase before it becomes unaffordable,” he says. In Devanahalli, the boom is reflected in the seemingly never-ending queues for registration at the sub-registrar office. Sources in the sub-registrar office say around 300-350 registrations happen everyday.

However, many of the purchasers are giving themselves more time to assess the development of the region in the coming months before they decide on what to do with the land.

The apparent indecisiveness — in the wake of a sudden surge of opportunities — is evident on a signboard in Chikkajala. Beneath the “not for sale” is written the owner’s mobile number, in bold. Evidently, he’s waiting for the big deal.

FACTFILE

Realty Boom (approx in Rs per sq ft)

2004 2005 2006

RT Nagar 700-1100 1000-1700 1400-2200

Hebbal 800-1200 900-1600 1100-2000

Yelahanka 700-1000 800-1400 900-1800

Devanahalli 200-300 250-450 400-900


sucj things force CM to rightly declare...

CM rules out more land for City industries
Deccan Herald

Chief Minister H D Kumaaraswamy on Monday made it clear that the state government “is not in a position” to sanction land as demanded by industries, including IT companies, around Bangalore City.

Chief Minister H D Kumaaraswamy on Monday made it clear that the state government “is not in a position” to sanction land as demanded by industries, including IT companies, around Bangalore City.

“We have no choice but to check the influx of IT industries – which is now only in and around the city. It is impossible to meet the demand for land and infrastructure,” said the chief minister while participating in the valedictory of Peenya Industries Association’s (PIA) silver jubilee celebrations. “Every IT company demands 500 acres to 1,000 acres of land around Bangalore City to set up their campus. How can the government provide such vast land for all companies,” Mr Kumaaraswamy asked. The government will not allow any company to use land acquired in their favour for real estate purposes. His government “will positively respond” to all types of investments in the state.

The government, however, “can provide land for any type of industry around Bangalore City only to a limited and reasonable extent.” Calling upon the investors to move to other cities, Mr Kumaaraswamy said: “Land is available in vast extent around cities like Mangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum and the government will extend all cooperation to investors, including in IT sector, to establish their offices in those cities.”

Though the chief minister admitted that the IT companies had brought a brand image to Bangalore, he said they were also equally responsible for the unusual hike in land prices, which had adversely affected the middle class and ordinary people. Is it possible for people belonging to these classes even to think of buying a site of the smallest dimension in and around Bangalore today, the Chief Minister asked. He said he had the responsibility of protecting the interest of these sections of society which were struggling to survive due to escalating cost of living in Bangalore.

Referring to the hue and cry raised by some IT industry leaders over inadequate infrastructure in Bangalore, Mr Kumaaraswamy said the Peenya industrial area lacked several basic facilities even after 35 years of its establishment.

He thanked the members of the PIA for cooperating with successive governments.

He assured the PIA members that he would soon convene a meeting of officers and industry representatives to chalk out a plan to improve infrastructure in Peenya industrial area, the largest industrial complex in the South Asia region. “The government is committed to providing necessary infrastructure to IT and other industries, but at the same time the needs of the common people cannot be ignored,” he said.


actually, quite impressed with this guy has the balls to say it as it is.
but the real way would be to find active measures to ease prices.
why give plots in arkavathy. why not flats? why add to the sprawl?

Audi-si noDu odi si noDu, uruLi hOgadu
give it a try, give it a spin, it ain't gonna roll

German car and copter makers eye Karnataka
Deccan Herald

German car manufacturer Audi is keen on setting up a production plant in Karnataka.

German car manufacturer Audi is keen on setting up a production plant in Karnataka.

A delegation of the car manufacturing company is visiting the State in November to hold discussions with the State government, Small Industries Minister Katta Subrahmanya Naidu said.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Naidu said Audi company, largely catering to US and European markets, had distribution centres only in Mumbai and Bangalore in the country.

Production plant

The company had already set up a production plant in China and was looking forward to a similar venture in India, preferably Karnataka, said the Minister, who was part of the team which visited Germany under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. The delegation held talks with Euro helicopter manufacturing company which expressed willingness to establish a production unit in the State, Naidu said.

Already, Euro had tied up with HAL, Bangalore, for the production of shutters of helicopters. The Prime Minister and Economy Minister of Bavaria, a provincial state in Germany, were visiting India to hold discussions in this regard, he added.

Times of India, Bangalore Edition of 2nd May has given a status update of the Bangalore International Airport project. Scheduled to be completed by May 2008, the project is going on schedule according to TOI, 20% of the work is completed. I am unable to get an e-version of this report.

The gist (from memory) is that the runway levelling is completed and laying of bituminous layers is going on at rapid pace to beat the monsoon rains, both on the runway and the approach road connecting NH7. If the protective layers are unfinished, the rains will wash out the levelled earth and the whole job for those portions would have to be re-done. The crew of 2000 is fighting against time to finish it before the heavens open up. A lot of work on the terminal building and the admin bldg has been done, with the basement and the ground floor completed in one case.

The BIAL is also trying to coordinate with Bangalore Metro and the NHAI/BMIC to finalize the metro and highway connectivity to the new airport. Byappanahalli is going to have a major Bus, Metro hub. Apparently, Western Rly refused to allocate required land to link up KR Puram with Byappanahalli. (When will our govt agencies look at coomon good instead of nitpicking and fighting among themselves??). Alternatives with Bus/metro/Monorail connectivity are being studied in detail.

Its nice to see that things are moving guys!!!

Cheers to development.

Ajay is the best person to keep us updated about the progress of Bangalore International Airport as well as Hyderabad. I am not sure whether he can divulge the details officially.

He had visited both the sites recently and I had asked for photos, but he said a "strict no no" there.

Times of India, Bangalore Edition of 2nd May has given a status update of the Bangalore International Airport project. Scheduled to be completed by May 2008, the project is going on schedule according to TOI, 20% of the work is completed. I am unable to get an e-version of this report.

The gist (from memory) is that the runway levelling is completed and laying of bituminous layers is going on at rapid pace to beat the monsoon rains, both on the runway and the approach road connecting NH7. If the protective layers are unfinished, the rains will wash out the levelled earth and the whole job for those portions would have to be re-done. The crew of 2000 is fighting against time to finish it before the heavens open up. A lot of work on the terminal building and the admin bldg has been done, with the basement and the ground floor completed in one case.

The BIAL is also trying to coordinate with Bangalore Metro and the NHAI/BMIC to finalize the metro and highway connectivity to the new airport. Byappanahalli is going to have a major Bus, Metro hub. Apparently, Western Rly refused to allocate required land to link up KR Puram with Byappanahalli. (When will our govt agencies look at coomon good instead of nitpicking and fighting among themselves??). Alternatives with Bus/metro/Monorail connectivity are being studied in detail.

Its nice to see that things are moving guys!!!

Cheers to development.

Vadi - good work on the update of the proposed KSRTC project and the other articles.

Indeed, Bangalore real estate has become inaccesible for the middle class. I am not sure if blaming the IT sector for its boom as the cause, is the right thing to do - reminds me of the golden goose story whenever someone takes this line. There is a very active real estate 'mafia' if you can call it that, which is milking this boom. Builders are blaming rising real estate costs and also escalating cost of steel and cement. The ultimate sufferer in this game is the end customer. Those who cannot afford it are left disgruntled and disheartened.

HDK does make sense when he talks of unavailability of large tracts of land in and around the city. He shd not stop with that and entice industries to other towns by improving the infrastructure in tier-2 cities.

For examle, BMIC, once completed, would be a major draw for all kinds of businesses and indutries to invest in the Blr-Mysore belt. We need more such corridors to draw the investments into the interiors.

Cheers to development!

Times of India, Bangalore Edition of 2nd May has given a status update of the Bangalore International Airport project. Scheduled to be completed by May 2008, the project is going on schedule according to TOI, 20% of the work is completed. I am unable to get an e-version of this report.

The gist (from memory) is that the runway levelling is completed and laying of bituminous layers is going on at rapid pace to beat the monsoon rains, both on the runway and the approach road connecting NH7. If the protective layers are unfinished, the rains will wash out the levelled earth and the whole job for those portions would have to be re-done. The crew of 2000 is fighting against time to finish it before the heavens open up. A lot of work on the terminal building and the admin bldg has been done, with the basement and the ground floor completed in one case.

The BIAL is also trying to coordinate with Bangalore Metro and the NHAI/BMIC to finalize the metro and highway connectivity to the new airport. Byappanahalli is going to have a major Bus, Metro hub. Apparently, Western Rly refused to allocate required land to link up KR Puram with Byappanahalli. (When will our govt agencies look at coomon good instead of nitpicking and fighting among themselves??). Alternatives with Bus/metro/Monorail connectivity are being studied in detail.

Its nice to see that things are moving guys!!!

Cheers to development.
I heard that Railways is not interested in the project to connect the airport from byappanahalli or Cantonment.. So, it mite be Bangalore metro who mite be considered given the fact that they are already thinking of Phase II at the moment

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/03/stories/2006050306730100.htm
BMRDA proposal for five satellite towns approved (Sathanur, Nandagudi, Bidadi, Kasaba and Solur)
They will be linked by a ring road and an intermediate ring road Acquisition of land will start in two months
The project will be completed in about three years

Bangalore: The Government has approved a proposal of the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA) to form five satellite towns and link them with a ring road and an intermediate ring road...

The satellite towns to be developed include Sathanur in Kanakapura taluk; Nandagudi in Hoskote taluk; Bidadi in Ramanagaram taluk; Kasaba in Ramanagaram taluk and Solur in Magadi taluk.

Acquisition of land estimated at around 75,000 acres, will start in two months...

The estimated cost of the satellite towns ring road and the intermediate ring road is Rs. 2,650 crore. A length of 262 km of radial roads linking the two ring roads will be developed at a cost of Rs. 780 crore...

Going by BMRDA's tentative schedule, the project will be completed in about three years. The roads will be designed so as to enable vehicles to travel at 180 km an hour.

Ring road: The satellite towns ring road will be a stretch of 283 km, connecting the peripheral towns of Dobbspet; Magadi; Ramanagaram; Kanakapura; Anekal; Attibele; Sarjapura; Hoskote; Devanahalli; and Doddaballapur.

The intermediate ring road, which will extend up to 178 km, will connect the intermediate towns of Nelamangala; Tavarekere; Bidadi; Harohalli; Thattekere; Sarjapura; Hoskote; Mallapura; and Aradeshanahalli...

Grade separators: Grade separators and interchanges will be constructed at the junction of the ring roads with national highways, State highways and major district roads...
Mr. Kumaraswamy said the development of the five townships spread over nearly 60,000 acres of land was expected to bring in an investment of over Rs. 30,000 crore.

News From Webindia123.com
Rs 36,000 crore project to ease Bangalore's traffic congestion
Bangalore | May 02, 2006 6:43:53 PM IST

A massive Rs 36,000 crore project will be taken up by the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority...

While Rs 6000 crore would be spent on arterial ring roads and radial roads, Rs 30,000 crore would be spent on townships coming up at Hoskote, Ramanagaram, Magadi and Kanakapura.

... The townships would also have independent airstrips and helipads to cater to limited domestic air traffic needs, he added.

Will the ring road be an expressway like the planned Hyderabad ring road, which will have ramps only? And are you sure they mean for travel of 180km. That is 110 miles per hour. That is a higher speed than any U.S expressway allows!

Will the ring road be an expressway like the planned Hyderabad ring road, which will have ramps only? And are you sure they mean for travel of 180km. That is 110 miles per hour. That is a higher speed than any U.S expressway allows!
Looks like this is the first press release on this subject and hence there might be a little bit of exaggeration. Once they hire a consultant and get the DPR prepared, approved by NHAI - things will take a shape.

They did mention about ramps and interchanges at junctions. It might be a part 6 lane, part 8 lane express highway (there is a portion where the satellite town ring road and the inner ring road merge - that part might be 6 lane ).

I too have doubts about 180kmph speed limit. they might limit the speed at 80-100 kmph (50-65mph).

"The satellite towns ring road will be a stretch of 283 km", is too much to build within a budget of 6000 crore, unless, they make use of most parts of existing inner ring road. One good thing is there are no major lakes or rivers enroute, so there is no need to build many bridges or flyovers.

If the speed limit is set to be 180km/h then it will be second only to Germany (where there are no real speed limits except on surface streets).

This sounds logical too, because the 5 townships proposed are pretty far away from one another and also from BIAL. :) Then the traffic cops will be provided with helicopters to monitor road ragers.

"The satellite towns ring road will be a stretch of 283 km", is too much to build within a budget of 6000 crore, unless, they make use of most parts of existing inner ring road. One good thing is there are no major lakes or rivers enroute, so there is no need to build many bridges or flyovers.

babji,
from first read this appears to be a greenfield project. not to be confused with the IRR that is within the blore conurbation area. this is a part that is even outside the BDA and even the (7cmcs) area. imagine blore starting at ramanagara and extending all the way upto magadi!!! if this comes up it will prolly change south karnataka. wonder why he left doddaballapura out of the loop. some of these could prolly be part of the SEZs that they have been proposing.

now what is cool about this whole thing is he kept the lid on the whole thing for so long. he's got about 15 months to get this off ground.

the important thing is the idea of taking the prob head on. i have been reading both CDP and its review - their world never really went beyond BDA-PRR. (but sincerely, hope CDP-'15 gets implemented though). this is way beyond any of that. this is BMRDA's child & covers about 2/3rds of the district.

also this is not prolly meant to make people long work in bidadi/ramanagara and stay in chickpet. therefore could'nt care about speed. this is meant to create poles with hopefully their own spheres of influence around blore.

regarding BIAL- the areas around it are under BIAAPA and they have their own plans. though the pallonji plan is under fire for the moment.

hez in a hurry is'nt he? just got a massive plan for NK off and now this for SK.

okay mr. kheny rest in peace now.

Looks like the satellite towns ring road is almost touching doddaballapura.
may be he is saving the announcement for another round of surprises!

do you think, this will see him thru the next elections? - like a show case of work-in-progress??

no political expert here, but should carry him through the southern districts unless the cauvery things blows out. he must build on what the farmers have already done. (BTW, wherez the water for all of this gonna come?)

though if cannot the hassan line started then he's gonna be in trouble in interior karnataka. but yedi has already softened the bed in shimoga.

DK/NJ is bhajpa land. and they need massive investments in NK to hold ground.

the way he got power he cannot afford to fool around. too young to be a dharam singh.

I have a feeling that papa is planning and leading him privately.

remember, all that drama about papa's announcements against him when he came to power...
now he is praising papa publicly and even giving him credit for some of the decisions...

way to go. I'll be really greatful if any of you guys can post some pics from the mysore rd satellite terminal of the KSRTC. have read so much about it, wanna see it. it's near anjaneya temple on the rd.

Source The Hindu.
Bangalore: The four State-run road transport corporations put together have emerged as the leading government transport undertakings in the country.

The State has overtaken others in the last few years because of the good practices and the cooperation extended by over 75,000 workmen.

A long-term strategy has been finalised to ensure that the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the Bangalore Metropolitan transport Corporation (BMTC), the North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) and the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) worked in a similar manner or even better and stay ahead.

It has now become a matter of routine for senior officials of the KSRTC to receive top officials of the government road transport corporations of various States who come to study the progressive strategies adopted here.

Minister for Transport N. Cheluvarayaswamy and KSRTC Managing Director M.R. Sreenivasamurthy told The Hindu here on Tuesday that one of the happy moments for the KSRTC was when a Cabinet subcommittee of the Government of Andhra Pradesh accompanied by a team of senior officials visited Bangalore recently on one such mission.

Union Transport Secretary L.K. Joshi was also here to study the features of the good performance put up by the KSRTC. Apart from them were the visits of high-level delegations from Gujarat and Maharashtra, they said.

Profit

While the KSRTC and the BMTC have together earned a net profit of Rs. 100 crore in the last financial year, the NEKRTC and the NWKRTC have been attempting to break even. The four corporations put together have a fleet of 16,000 buses.

These corporations have not seen any labour strike in the last seven years meaning it was the dedication of the employees, among others, which has enabled them reap rich dividends.

The State is one of the leading operators of Volvo buses in the country. Of the 1,000 Volvo buses on the road, 120 are owned by the State transport agencies and orders have been placed for another 100. A study conducted by the Government shows that the buses have turned out to be a hit for both long distance travel and city travel.

Keeping with the drive to decongest Bangalore and some of the highways connecting important towns and cities, the KSRTC and the BMTC have responded to the call of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. In Bangalore, Volvo buses are being operated in a big way and have proved to be a success. For every Volvo bus in operation, the expectation is that it would help in displacing at least 20 cars and around 40 autorickshaws. At present, such buses are in operation on some long distance routes in the city and orders have been placed for another 50. For the software engineers working on the outskirts of the city, the hi-tech coaches have come as a pleasant change and a large number of them have stopped using private personal transport.

Performance

Mr. Cheluvarayaswamy said what had elevated the KSRTC and the BMTC to a high status was not merely the revenue generated and the profits, although it was a fact that the State was one of the few where State-run bus corporations were earning profits.

The performance was judged on the basis of several parameters, including fuel efficiency, staff per bus ratio, productivity per bus, facilities at bus terminals and accident rate.

The fuel economy of the buses here was 5.25 km to 5.36 km per litre of High Speed Diesel while each bus covered between 360 km to 370 km per day. The accident rate was also low enabling the corporations to earn the national safety award.

I have a suspicion that papa is planning and guiding him privately.

remember, all that drama about papa's announcements against him when he came to power...
now he is praising papa publicly and even giving him credit for some of the decisions...

oh that was always clear.
you see papa has always been as they say in bambaiyya -'yeda banke pedha khao'.

when in power he's done some of the most progressive things, only he wants to ensure that name, fame + duddu to stick.(nothing wrong as long as doesn't repeat the nakshatrik attitude of 2004-2005). Ask the bureaucrats around papa and they'll spill the real boiled beans. (eg. unsung hero of the WTO,Doha rounds even the hindu conceded)

yekkada vunnavu baabai? intha raathri ki postlu payna postlu?

teluginTi alluDu.
kannadammana kanda :)

They did mention about ramps and interchanges at junctions. It might be a part 6 lane, part 8 lane express highway (there is a portion where the satellite town ring road and the inner ring road merge - that part might be 6 lane ).

I too have doubts about 180kmph speed limit. they might limit the speed at 80-100 kmph (50-65mph).


It is a pity that the speed would be limited to 80 Kmph as in the case of Mumbai Pune Expressway. Even this is the limit, are the vehicles sticking to that speed limit?

Even in NH stretches, it is possible to have safe speeds about 100kmph. So in an Express way, 120kmph shall be the limit, atleast. If vehicles dont seem to be roadworthy, do not allow then to enter the expressway.

^^^ ive rarely seen anyone driving below 100 km/hr on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Most of the enthusiasts even reach 200 km/hr. There arent many cops patrolling the expressway.

^^^ ive rarely seen anyone driving below 100 km/hr on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Most of the enthusiasts even reach 200 km/hr. There arent many cops patrolling the expressway.

Exactly that I was saying...So we are creating a situation where we have to break the rule of law. And give chance for corruption..

Why can't it be otherwise, limit it to 120 -140 kmph and enforce it strictly or no limits as in the case of Autobahns?

Exactly that I was saying...So we are creating a situation where we have to break the rule of law. And give chance for corruption..

Why can't it be otherwise, limit it to 120 -140 kmph and enforce it strictly or no limits as in the case of Autobahns?

How about no speed limit in most cases, but with speed limits in certain cases. For example...


Rural+suburban expressways-no limit whatsoever, with a MINIMUM of 80km/h
Urban expressways-100km/h
Rural highways (at-grade intersections+dual carriageway)-no speed limit whatsoever, no minimum either
Suburban highways-100km/h
Urban highways -90km/h with flyovers/70km/h without
Expressways in highly Built-up areas-80km/h
Highways in highly Built-up areas-70km/h
2-lane rural routes (no center divider)-no limits of any kind (no point, as these routes get almost no traffic anyway)
Super-2s in rural areas (same as above but w/ center divider+hard shoulders)-100km/h
RIRO-70km/h max, 50km/h min (100km/h max in rural areas)
Surface streets-50-60km/h



Here's my proposed standardized road numbering system:


Expressways-Tolled, access-controlled, fully grade-seperated, no direct driveway access (E###)
Freeways-Highways with no intersecting traffic or tolls, otherwise the same standards apply as to highways, including a lack of access control. This is different from the American usage to an extent.
Highways-4-lanes, divided twin carriageways, cross-traffic permitted but not direct driveway access (frontage roads are essential), highway-highway traffic MUST be handled by way of interchanges (H###)
Super-2: same standards as above, but with 2 lanes instead of 4 (S2###)
Rural Routes-MUST be paved, with at least 2 lanes, no other standards (R###)
State Highways-these can be any of the above standard levels, but with the SH suffix and state code prefix, the Mumbai-Pune expressway becomes MHE001SH, the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor becomes KAE001SH, etc.
National Highways-these can be anything from Super-2s all the way up to expressways and are subject to federal funding. These take the N prefix, eg the current NH7 shall be redesignated NH007, etc.
RIRO-total grade seperation is required, but direct driveway access is allowed, but only with pork chop channelizations.


It's just an idea and needs some refinement, plz comment.

http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/2863/banglore1ls.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=banglore1ls.jpg)
http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/8545/20kl.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20kl.jpg)

^^

Pretty cool, I hope they build it.

I counted the floors, it's about 21F not including the confusing base. Since the height of the mase+spire=the height of the mid bit (more or less), I've estimated the tower to be equivalent to a 42F tower in height, more or less. At 3m=1F, th est height is 126m/413'3" or so.

I'm not sure how well it'll age tho.

Naga good thought put in.. :)

How to make our authorities hear about this?

How about no speed limit in most cases, but with speed limits in certain cases. For example...


Rural+suburban expressways-no limit whatsoever, with a MINIMUM of 80km/h
Urban expressways-100km/h
Rural highways (at-grade intersections+dual carriageway)-no speed limit whatsoever, no minimum either
Suburban highways-100km/h
Urban highways -90km/h with flyovers/70km/h without
Expressways in highly Built-up areas-80km/h
Highways in highly Built-up areas-70km/h
2-lane rural routes (no center divider)-no limits of any kind (no point, as these routes get almost no traffic anyway)
Super-2s in rural areas (same as above but w/ center divider+hard shoulders)-100km/h
RIRO-70km/h max, 50km/h min (100km/h max in rural areas)
Surface streets-50-60km/h



Here's my proposed standardized road numbering system:


Expressways-Tolled, access-controlled, fully grade-seperated, no direct driveway access (E###)
Freeways-Highways with no intersecting traffic or tolls, otherwise the same standards apply as to highways, including a lack of access control. This is different from the American usage to an extent.
Highways-4-lanes, divided twin carriageways, cross-traffic permitted but not direct driveway access (frontage roads are essential), highway-highway traffic MUST be handled by way of interchanges (H###)
Super-2: same standards as above, but with 2 lanes instead of 4 (S2###)
Rural Routes-MUST be paved, with at least 2 lanes, no other standards (R###)
State Highways-these can be any of the above standard levels, but with the SH suffix and state code prefix, the Mumbai-Pune expressway becomes MHE001SH, the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor becomes KAE001SH, etc.
National Highways-these can be anything from Super-2s all the way up to expressways and are subject to federal funding. These take the N prefix, eg the current NH7 shall be redesignated NH007, etc.
RIRO-total grade seperation is required, but direct driveway access is allowed, but only with pork chop channelizations.


It's just an idea and needs some refinement, plz comment.

sudeesh interesting discussion.
Speed = danger. Unregulated speed = pralaya.

System side problems:
#1. a significant chunk of drivers here have got their licenses without going through any rigorous screening or training. To drive on Germany autobahns I believe one has to go through a very stringent screening process. This means driver discipline. In Germany, you have to stick to the right lane and can only go to the left lane if you are overtaking somebody. This level of discipline is not there even in the USA- it only exists in sporadic chunks of certain states.

#2. Monitoring of traffic violations is still an undeveloped art here. Eg. Screening and monitoring for driving under the influence: dunno about Germany, but in the USA, this they have found to be a major-major concern and have pumped $$$ in public education, policy development. (The tech for screening is still crude in some sense, but it works.)

#3. Even when booked for violations, the legal penalties don't seem to be stringent. forget about on-the-spot resolution. In the US you blow 0.08 BAC and you can be sure of losing your license, worst you can be arrested for man-slaughter, assault with a weapon. that means jail. If these don't get you, the insurance companies will. :)

#4. US has dedicated staff to patrol highways.

i guess you can send these ideas to the Indian Roads Congress.
they have a website but the publications all cost RsRsRs.

naga nice....
One thing the naming and classification must be simple and intuitive. Cannot afford to confuse drivers. i get mighty confused with named highway. where the f&* does john doe turnpike go?
the numbers can be direction coded too. that way idea of indicating tolled spaces in the name itself is good.

2-lane rural routes (no center divider)-no limits of any kind (no point, as these routes get almost no traffic anyway)
must have same limits as surface roads since they are not access controlled, and have typically no signages or markings. This means accident rates are higher.

in general, at all places the speed limits must have an upper limit. again in the absense of system side discipline this has to be imposed on the user side. this reinforce the idea that usage of public places requies discipline.

will get back to you on IT later.
summary nothing against it. (though my posts here prolly gnerally give an impression of me being a cassandra)

Exactly that I was saying...So we are creating a situation where we have to break the rule of law. And give chance for corruption..

Why can't it be otherwise, limit it to 120 -140 kmph and enforce it strictly or no limits as in the case of Autobahns?


For having limitless driving, the people who drive on them should have some basic concern for traffic rules (namely following lanes, blinking while you are overtaking, maintaining distance between vehicles). That is something that is totally absent in India. Most of them dont have a rear mirror and even if they do its stays mostly closed. We cannot afford to give total freedom to (drunken) lorry drivers, (not that they adhere to speed limits now). Its too dangerous.

There should be an awareness drive to inculcate driving sense in the people before going for higher (or no) speed limits.

http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/2863/banglore1ls.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=banglore1ls.jpg)
http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/8545/20kl.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20kl.jpg)

Doesnt it look like some modified version of "Burj al arab" design from the side view?.

babji,
did some more looking into it,
the STRR & new IRR will reuse significant chunk of existing highways.
STRR and new IRR share their south eastern extents and a small part in the north east.
the northern cap of STRR is NH207 between devanahalli and dobbaspete, nelamangala. the entire chunk on the western side starting from kanakapura in south to dobbaspete in the northwest is SH-3.

this means south to north east is covered. only eastern part of STRR needs to be greenfield. IRR is completely greenfield from what i can tell from the maps.

good atleast some SH will get upgraded.

also devanahalli area will get two solid new south -north alignments on the east.

again these are not really blore projects but south kn projects.

bmrda was constituted in 1985. finally they have woken up.

babji,
did some more looking into it,
the STRR & new IRR will reuse significant chunk of existing highways.
STRR and new IRR share their south eastern extents and a small part in the north east.
the northern cap of STRR is NH207 between devanahalli and dobbaspete, nelamangala. the entire chunk on the western side starting from kanakapura in south to dobbaspete in the northwest is SH-3.

this means south to north east is covered. only eastern part of STRR needs to be greenfield. IRR is completely greenfield from what i can tell from the maps.

good atleast some SH will get upgraded.

also devanahalli area will get two solid new south -north alignments on the east.

again these are not really blore projects but south kn projects.

bmrda was constituted in 1985. finally they have woken up.

Vadi, Fully agree with you. Though it looks very futuristic, it is doable and greatly expands the boundaries of BMRDA. Even if they execute the plan in phases, it looks like a good plan.
Hope, they will closely follow up and make it reality soon!

sudeesh interesting discussion.
Speed = danger. Unregulated speed = pralaya.

System side problems:
#1. a significant chunk of drivers here have got their licenses without going through any rigorous screening or training. To drive on Germany autobahns I believe one has to go through a very stringent screening process. This means driver discipline. In Germany, you have to stick to the right lane and can only go to the left lane if you are overtaking somebody. This level of discipline is not there even in the USA- it only exists in sporadic chunks of certain states.

#2. Monitoring of traffic violations is still an undeveloped art here. Eg. Screening and monitoring for driving under the influence: dunno about Germany, but in the USA, this they have found to be a major-major concern and have pumped $$$ in public education, policy development. (The tech for screening is still crude in some sense, but it works.)

#3. Even when booked for violations, the legal penalties don't seem to be stringent. forget about on-the-spot resolution. In the US you blow 0.08 BAC and you can be sure of losing your license, worst you can be arrested for man-slaughter, assault with a weapon. that means jail. If these don't get you, the insurance companies will. :)

#4. US has dedicated staff to patrol highways.

Very valid points. Fully agree with you.

Also, It is not an easy job to prevent not-so-roadworthy vehicles on the expressway - it is open to all - It is left to the descretion of the driver. Each wreckless driver on the expressway can impact 5-20 cars and lives apart from his own.

Just to cite an example, NJ Turnpike is an expressway, which is very popular, famous and heavily used and looks like a straight line for most part (tempting to go fast). The speed limits are 55-65 MPH. (90-105 kmph).
Speed limits are imposed for the safety of the road users.

http://i3.tinypic.com/x60l85.jpg

Inside courtyard of the towers. This would feature a waterbody. Parking and other services is below this podium

http://i2.tinypic.com/x60lds.jpg

After finding out that hok, Inc. will be designing the Delhi airport, I went over to their site to see what else they have designed.

Then as i was looking around, I found a fairly recent article on the Brigade Gateway Project.

Ambitious Brigade Gateway Development Project in Southern India Nears Reality as Construction Phase Begins

The Brigade Gateway Development will include the tallest building in Bangalore, at 128 meters in height. Plans for the project also call for a major 600,000 square foot retail and dining center, a 300-room hotel and conference facility, educational buildings, a hospital, clubhouse and a residential neighborhood for over 10,000 residents. The New York office of HOK, the global architectural giant, is the designer and master planner for the complex. The developer is Brigade Group, one of the largest builders in Southern India.

The office tower, which will be 31 stories tall, has been designed with large, “International-style” floorplates, measuring 35,000 square feet. It features a unitized curtain wall system, which is unique for Bangalore construction. Kenneth H. Drucker, AIA, the HOK Director of Design who is leading the design team, states, “Our objective is to bring the best standards of international building design and technology to this important mixed-use development. We envision this ultimately as an important, self-contained destination for commercial office tenants, apartment residents, retail shoppers, hotel guests and Cineplex audiences. In our planning, we have emphasized pedestrian orientation and convenience. The buildings are designed with an emphasis on transparency and the transfer of natural light to interior spaces. We’re honored to be the only U. S. architectural firm working on a large-scale mixed-use project of this scale in Bangalore. The project will also be self-contained from an infrastructure point of view, with its own cogeneration power plant, water treatment plant and storm-water treatment system. Importantly, sustainable design features are integrated into both the site and architecture.”

Integral to the master plan for the complex is a series of pedestrian-friendly streets, courtyards, gardens and plazas. Proposed at the center of the site is a man-made lake, and the retention of existing 80 year old raintrees, a public amenity to be abutted by all of the major “districts." Conceptually, it is an important design feature for the project and symbolizes the importance of water to the history and development of Bangalore.

The project, which officially is known as Brigade Gateway, is on a 40-acre site centrally located in the Rajaji Nagar District, approximately 30–40 minutes from The Bangalore Airport and about a 15-minute drive from the City Railway Station. The site had previously been dedicated to an industrial use – the equivalent of a brownfield site in the United States. The Brigade group has cleared the site, constructed model homes and has begun excavation for the infrastructure and foundations for the Phase One housing.

Kenneth H. Drucker, AIA, concludes, “Brigade Gateway will establish a new benchmark for quality architecture and development in the fast-growing Bangalore region. We envision this project as a terrific opportunity to design an integrated, contained community with the best in commercial, hospitality, retail and residential in this key part of the city. Brigade has the vision to move the state-of-art construction 5-10 years ahead of current standards, which increases both the quality and marketability of the project. ”



http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/images/18/Regular/News_Office%20Tower.jpg

http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/images/18/Regular/News_Retail-Dining%201.jpg

http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/images/18/Regular/News_Retail-Dining%203.jpg

Link.... (http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/current/247f4952-1422-77e3-d2a0-522b3fd0074f.htm)

http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/2863/banglore1ls.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=banglore1ls.jpg)
http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/8545/20kl.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20kl.jpg)

After finding out that hok, Inc. will be designing the Delhi airport, I went over to their site to see what else they have designed.

Then as i was looking around, I found a fairly recent article on the Brigade Gateway Project.

Ambitious Brigade Gateway Development Project in Southern India Nears Reality as Construction Phase Begins



http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/images/18/Regular/News_Office%20Tower.jpg

http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/images/18/Regular/News_Retail-Dining%201.jpg

http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/images/18/Regular/News_Retail-Dining%203.jpg

Link.... (http://www.hok.com/news/PressReleases/current/247f4952-1422-77e3-d2a0-522b3fd0074f.htm)


Are the above to projects under construction. Will either ever be under construction? Who is constructing them? Is L&T?

Are the above to projects under construction. Will either ever be under construction? Who is constructing them? Is L&T?

A definite yes to Brigade Gateway. I have been to their office last month.

And M/s Venkataramanan associates of Bangalore seems to the local architect. This project is listed in their brochure too.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1528638.cms
Bangalore to have mono rail project

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, MAY 14, 2006 12:23:25 AM]

BANGALORE: Ahead of the implementation of the Rs 6,350-crore Metro Rail project, Bangalore is set to have an 18-km long mono rail pilot project.

A Malaysian company has offered to implement the 18-km long mono rail project from Kanakapura in the city outskirts to the busy Majestic area on Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis, according to Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, who said the company is planning to commence work on or before August 15 and complete within 15 months.

Headed by former union cabinet secretary Zafar Saifullah, Metrail had made an offer to the previous Dharam Singh-led Congress-JD(S) coalition regime to build the mono-rail system at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore with no funding or other guar-antees from either the state or central government.
The chief minister said the Malyasian company has promised to make the investment without any contribution from the government nor demolition of any private or government buildings. There will be no land acquisition.

The present or future route alignment for the Metro Rail project will not be affected by the Mono Rail lines. The entire 18-km stretch of mono rail line will be laid along the existing roads.

It will also cover linkages to arterial roads along the route, he said, explaining that the finer details were presently being worked out and would be an-nounced soon.

Kumaraswamy said the Malaysian company had submitted a proposal for laying a 95-kms Mono Rail network with linkages to arterial roads at its own cost with no investment from the government covering the areas not covered by the Metro Rail project on BOT basis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like the monorail is all set to come in a big way in the southern metros.
build the mono-rail system at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore with no funding or other guarantees...
what an irresistible offer!

Bangalore monorail project launch on Aug 15

Our Bureau

Bangalore , May 13

Monorail, which had virtually been forgotten in the wake of a controversy stirred up by former Prime Minster, H. D. Deve Gowda, has been given a fresh lease from the new coalition Government of BJP and Janata Dal (S) led by Mr Gowda's son and the Chief Minister, Mr H. D. Kumaraswamy.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/05/14/stories/2006051403090300.htm

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/05/16/stories/2006051621860100.htm

Mysore gets Rs. 312 crore in urban renewal mission
Funds to be utilised to preserve heritage structures

MYSORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Monday that Mysore had been allocated Rs. 312 crore for development of heritage and tourism over the next five years under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The Chief Minister said a cultural centre, convention hall, golf club and renovation of heritage buildings were the key initiatives to be taken up under JNNURM. Mr. Kumaraswamy said the State Government had decided to develop an Integrated International Convention Centre close to Devanahalli International Airport with a seating capacity of 5,000 on public-private partnership.

The International Convention Centre will not only accommodate 5,000 delegates, but have three-star and five-star hotel facilities for 3,000 to 4,000 delegates, besides shopping arcades, multiplexes, forex facilities and banks and ATMs.

Apart from the traditional tourist attraction centres such as Bangalore, Mysore and Hampi, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the State had a "new world of tourism" opening up. Mr. Kumaraswamy said the State Government was working closely with the Centre to develop tourism-related infrastructure such as road side facilities, roads leading to tourism destinations, airports and so on

Teaser replaced with something proper

http://www.ubindia.com/

Stuff on the UB Group website

http://www.theubgroup.com/infrastructure.html

A front-on view of a building already posted by rajith:

http://www.ubindia.com/IMAGES/ubtower.jpg

It looks like they've made a lot of progress since mid 05. Hopefully they'll finish up the first two towers soon...

Defying SC orders, Karnataka works on Bill to grab country’s first private road project

Read full article here:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/5813.html

Bangalore-Mysore Expressway: If okayed, Streamlining of Karnataka Infrastructure Development and Land Reforms Bill 2006, inspired by Deve Gowda, will allow cancellation of 1997 Framework Agreement for BMICP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grumpy Gowda is trying to pull the sucker punch by manipualting his CM son to bring in a new law targetted at taking over the BMIC project. Isn't it a wonder to what depths this guy can fall?

Defying SC orders, Karnataka works on Bill to grab country’s first private road project

Read full article here:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/5813.html

Bangalore-Mysore Expressway: If okayed, Streamlining of Karnataka Infrastructure Development and Land Reforms Bill 2006, inspired by Deve Gowda, will allow cancellation of 1997 Framework Agreement for BMICP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grumpy Gowda is trying to pull the sucker punch by manipualting his CM son to bring in a new law targetted at taking over the BMIC project. Isn't it a wonder to what depths this guy can fall?


Well it's good that the Indian Express has exposed this corrupt guy once again. But I guess Mr Deve Gowda has no shame or self respect.

Indian Express editorial slams the proposed bill to take over the BMIC project.
Law of slash & grab
The Karnataka government’s infrastructure Bill is retrograde. Congress, BJP must stop it
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/5820.html

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy tries to smoothen ruffled feathers

No plan to bring in law to take over BMIC: Kumaraswamy
Move causes consternation among the BJP leaders
http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/06/stories/2006060618950400.htm

IBM to triple investments in India to $6 billion
PTI

BANGALORE: Global it major IBM on Tuesday said it plans to triple its investments in India to six billion dollars (Rs 27,000 crore) in the next three years to build facilities for servicing global clients better.

"In the next three years, we will triple our investments in India -from USD two billion over the last three years to nearly USD six billion," IBM chairman and CEO Samuel J Palmisano announced on Tuesday.

Part of the investment would go into building service delivery centres, besides a telecommunications research centre to cater to the company's telecom clients worldwide.

"That investment will ensure that we make the most of the opportunities to grow this market place, while it also enables IBM to fulfil its vision to become a globally integrated company", Palmisano said, addressing the company's 10,000 employees here. Employees of IBM'S facilities in Delhi, Mumabi, Kolkata and Pune tuned into his address via satellite.

Without elaborating, he also said that IBM would increase its India headcount. The company has 43,000 employees in 14 cities across the country.

Palmisano, on a two-day visit to the country, said India and other emerging economies are an increasingly important part of IBM'S global success.

"If you are not here in India, making the right investments and finding and developing the best employees and business partners, you won't be able to combine the skills and expertise here with skills and expertise from around the world, in ways that can help our clients be successful".

He added: "I'm here today to say that IBM is not going to Miss This opportunity".

Hi hi - I'm wondering if anyone has any news/updates on the expansion of the Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore? I understand another additional wing is being constructed but when is construction expected to complete? :dunno:

Shangrila Hotel, Bangalore India
http://www.cpgcorp.com.sg/admin/files/portfolio/Leisure/Shangrila_Hotel_Bangalore.jpg
The Shangri-La Hotel, Banglore is a five-Star hotel, strategically located along Palace Road in Bangalore. The hotel is 18-storey tall with a three-storey basement.

The hotel’s facilities include food & beverage outlets, a 500-person capacity banquet hall, meeting rooms and boardrooms, a business centre, a health club and spa, and a gymnasium. A landscape deck with swimming pool and jacuzzi sits on the podium roof level while at the top of the tower are a sky lounge and a landscape roof garden terrace offering a panoramic view of Bangalore. A helipad is also available for those who choose to arrive in style.


Whitefield Singa Gardens, Bangalore, India
http://www.cpgcorp.com.sg/admin/files/portfolio/living/whitefield.jpg
Set within 32 acres of lush greenery and waterscapes, Whitefield Singa Gardens has a complete range of amenities and luxurious landscaping for its residents leisure and convenience. Aimed at offering resort-living experience, it has a wide selection of studio, two to three bedroom apartments and luxurious penthouses, all with breathtaking views of the city and stunning landscaped pools. The large central plaza is the perfect venue for communal activities, while the differentiated communal spaces give identity to individual towers. The site comprises 10 towers ranging from 11 storeys to 24 storeys. All towers are oriented for maximum view and solar heat gain reduction.

Hello. I am going to India in Late July. I will be going to many cities there. Please tell me what to see in this thread. What projects should I see. What nice and newly constructed buildings should I see. What malls should I go to. What nice roads to see. Gardens? Things to do?
The Thread is Here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=349488&page=1&pp=20)

Indian Express editorial slams the proposed bill to take over the BMIC project.
Law of slash & grab
The Karnataka government’s infrastructure Bill is retrograde. Congress, BJP must stop it
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/5820.html

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy tries to smoothen ruffled feathers

No plan to bring in law to take over BMIC: Kumaraswamy
Move causes consternation among the BJP leaders
http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/06/stories/2006060618950400.htm

Good to see NICE build some offense against these baboons.

NICE warns of legal action (http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=94786&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

The Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) promoters Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) have warned the state government of of legal action if it fails to take effective steps towards execution of the project as directed by the Karnataka high court and Supreme Court.

In a 27-page letter addressed to chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, NICE managing director Ashok Kheny said that the court orders are not being implemented in ‘letter and spirit’ by the government.

The courts had pulled up the government for interfering in a development project and directed the administration to facilitate the road works.

“Apart from convening the meeting of the empowered committee, the government should hand over possession of 2,568 acres and issue further notification for acquisitions of balance land required for the project,” Kheny said.

“Various statements have been made by persons in the government that virtually show a willful disobedience of the court orders. We may take appropriate steps as available to us in the law if steps are not taken to facilitate implementation of the project,” Kheny added.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/06/17/stories/2006061712130100.htm

http://i6.tinypic.com/14o97xt.jpg

Bangalore: The 9.2-km stretch of the peripheral road of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) Project was inaugurated at Hemmigepura, Bangalore Rural district, on Friday. There were no representatives from the State Government at the function.

Fifty-eight children dressed in costumes representing different States and two elderly women, who gave up their land for the project, did the honours at the function.

The organisers of the event had arranged for vehicles to bring villagers from places as far as Devanahalli. Several artistes participated in the function to make it colourful and performed folk art forms, including stilt walking, "dollu kunita", "keelu kudure aata" and "karaga aata".

Sharadamma (93) and Ramakka (86), who were the chief guests at the function, told presspersons that they had given away a part of their land willingly for the project.

"I gave away my land because the project is sure to benefit the common man," said Ms. Ramakka.

The Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), which is executing the project, said: "The project is the only infrastructure project with a gestation period of 10 years. It has gone through seven Prime Ministers, four Chief Ministers (Karnataka), 15 Ministers for Public Works, eight Chief Secretaries, eight secretaries of the Department of Public Work, six secretaries of the Department of Urban Development, 10 secretaries of Department of Infrastructure and over 350 IAS officers. It has been discussed in over 100 Cabinet meetings and has been signed by 10,500 government officials, making it the most scrutinised project in the State

Guys,

I have been reading a lot about the BMIC controversy lately and wanted to know the background of the project. And I finally found it. For those interested check out this link

http://www.discoverbangalore.com/BMIC.htm

Via HT mumbai June 23rd

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/7315/230620060090047on.jpg

Via HT mumbai June 23rd

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/7315/230620060090047on.jpg
is this the same Elevated Flyover, sponsored by the IT companies (Infosys, Wipro etc)?
supposed to be made as a of steel structure, as against concrete columns and piers?

Bangalore is losing its charm

Sanjay Khan

New Delhi, June 22: Bangalore is undoubtedly the IT champion and the only one of its kind. But we cannot deny that the infrastructural problems are biting into the city's sheen gradually. And we also cannot deny the fact that Hyderabad is indeed a very keen and a competent competitor.

What the city urgently needs is a clean-up drive – from the roads to the traffic snarls. Travelling across the city from one end to another is a difficult task.

The conditions of roads are deplorable, and the entire city is crammed. Rising pollution is another important issue, which frays the mood.

To sum up, the city lacks planning. With most of the IT biggies situated in South Bangalore the area, in particular, is losing its charm. And the only solution is to equally distribute this IT force throughout the city.

But the big question is, why should the entire industry be concentrated in the south? According to financial parlance, success is always measured by a northward movement. And this is precisely why I believe that shifting few tech firms to the north of the city would be more beneficial.

It would smoothen the traffic flow, which at present is completely south bound. It would also increase the equity of every citizen, thus churning more economy.

Talking about the political arena, I would first highlight the condition of Bangalore in the past two years. It was nothing short for hell breaking loose.

Infrastructure apart, the biggest thing to ponder over is the city's airport, which still remains in the to-be stage. I cannot understand the reason for its delay. For that matter, I would not even call it a delay. I think it's a sheer mystery.

But the new government is a welcome change for the city. Kumaraswamy is a very ambitious man and is determined to correct all the wrongs. And the most appreciating thing is that the changes are already evident. Work has begun. But we must remember that the Chief Minister is not a magician and cannot fix things overnight. The citizens of Bangalore need to share this responsibility.

And the reason is very simple – Hyderabad is inching towards us with great pace and the competition is very stiff. If we don't get down to serious business now, it might be too late!

I have met the present Andhra Chief Minister, Mr Y S R Reddy and I must admit that he is a very-very ambitious man. He makes bold statements and sticks firmly to his words. He has been encouraging people across the globe to invest in Hyderabad. And when you have such a dynamic CM, the government machinery functions equally well.

As a citizen of Bangalore, I would like to once again say that immediacy is the key word for Bangloreans. The city is a crowning glory for Karnataka and we can't take things for granted. The first and the foremost thing needed, is a change in a Banglorean's attitude. We must learn to respect each other. We need to be more disciplined. And we need to get geared before Hyderabad punches us away.

But let's not forget that India's IT capital was not built overnight and it won't be easy to take its gleam away either. If we act now, no force can displace us. And as a Banglorean, I would definitely like to maintain that edge!

URL: http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=69751

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/24/stories/2006062422920100.htm

Metro rail work inauguration today

BANGALORE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the Rs. 6,395-crore 33-km Bangalore Metro Rail on Saturday...

The inauguration of the new office of the BMRC on the premises of Shanthinagar Bus Station will take place...

The Centre, the State Government and BMRC are putting in Rs. 5 lakh each as equity to become joint owners of the Bangalore Metro Rail...

To begin with, the BMRC will take up only the seven-km stretch of the east-west corridor — from M.G. Road to Byappanahlli.

Elevated expressway: The Prime Minister will inaugurate the work on Rs. 450-crore elevated expressway from Silk Board Junction to Electronics City on Hosur Road on National Highway 7.

It will have two-lane service roads, two underpasses, four pedestrian underpasses, two toll plazas and eight bus bays

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/24/stories/2006062412860400.htm

Monorail: Government criticised

Bangalore: Two Congress leaders have expressed reservations over the Government's move to initiate work on the monorail project, even as the metro rail project is to be launched.

Former Ministers B.K. Chandrashekar and G. Parameshwar told The Hindu here on Friday that work on the metro project would take a year to commence for various reasons.

They said the land required was yet to be acquired, and petitions were pending in the Karnataka High Court. Financial closure for the project had not been achieved, they added.

The two leaders said the Government seemed to be keen on bringing in a Malaysian company to implement the monorail project.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/25/stories/2006062505400600.htm

Manmohan lays foundation stone for the Rs. 450-crore 10-lane mixed corridor project


BANGALORE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday laid the foundation stone for the Rs. 450-crore 9.9-km 10-lane mixed corridor to Electronics City on National Highway 7 here, undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), calling it the latest milestone in the "road revolution" that India is now witnessing.

Dr. Singh, who shared his dream of an India "in which everyone can move along the same highway", said the corridor to Electronics City was a symbol of what Bangalore had come to represent. "You are on the highway of rapid progress in our country, while many other regions continue to remain behind. It is through your success, hard work, creativity and enterprise that you inspire all of us," he added.In a bid to dispel the false notion that development was a question of conflict between city and village, Dr. Singh listed several initiatives of the Union Government to provide world-class road connectivity around Bangalore.

The United Progressive Alliance Government had speeded up the construction and development of national highways. The programme had been expanded and funding steeply increased. "We now have a road programme under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) estimated at over Rs. 2,20,000 crore to be completed in the next seven to eight years," Dr. Singh said.

Dr. Singh said the NHDP had expanded from two phases to seven, covering most parts of the country. NHDP III, with investment of Rs. 55,000 crore, would see improved networking of 11,000 km of high-density highways connecting State capitals and important centres of tourism and economic activity. The most significant feature of these projects was that they were being developed largely through a public-private partnership mode, he said.

Dr. Singh wanted Bangalore's IT sector to share the credit for the city's emergence as a global brand.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/25/stories/2006062505060400.htm

Metro likely to cost twice as much as bus travel

BANGALORE: Commuters will have to pay much more than the bus fare to travel by the Bangalore Metro when it is ready...

The brochure puts the metro rail fare at one-and-a-half times the bus fare whereas it is nearly double.

It says the metro rail journey will be comfortable, quick, safe, economical and pollution free. Trains will run on electric power and will require only one-fifth the energy per passenger km compared to road-based systems. Thus it is expected to save about 22.3 per cent on running costs.

By direct and indirect means (such as use of fewer private vehicles and less pollution) the project is expected to save Rs. 1,155 crore annually for Bangaloreans.

Out of the 33 km of the entire network, 6.76 km of the track will go underground near the Vidhana Soudha, Majestic, City Railway Station, and City Market. Elsewhere it will be elevated.

The east-west corridor is 18.1 km, starting from Byappanahalli and terminating at Mysore Road after passing through Old Madras Road, Indiranagar, CMH Road, Ulsoor, Trinity Circle, M.G. Road, Cricket Stadium, Vidhana Soudha, Central College, Majestic, City Railway Station, Magadi Road, Hosahalli, Vijayanagar and Deepanjalinagar.

The 14.9-km north-south corridor will begin at Yeshwantpur (near Jalahalli Cross) and terminate on R.V. Road, via Mahalakshmi Layout, Rajajinagar, Kuvempu Road, Malleswaram, Swastik, Majestic, Chickpet, City Market, K.R. Road, Lalbagh, South End Circle and Jayanagar...


The planners have adopted standard gauge (1.435 m) for the project whereas the Delhi Metro runs on broad-gauge. The trains will achieve a maximum speed of 80 km/h

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/25/stories/2006062519040100.htm

BANGALORE: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday reiterated that Indian cities could no longer continue to develop "in a haphazard manner."

Dr. Singh, who laid the foundation for the Rs. 6,395-crore 33-km Bangalore Metro Rail project here, said the cities needed to invest in world-class public infrastructure and improve the quality of living.

Bangalore's skills were respected across the world. Its software earnings helped the balance of payments "even in these days when our oil imports are rising." But the city suffered for lack of adequate infrastructure and "other cities have been catching up, investing for the future."

Dr. Singh said: "There is no guarantee that the future will be a continuation of the past success of this city." Hence, the city would have to keep reinventing itself to maintain its lead...

The Prime Minister wanted the metro project completed in the next three years. He called for integrated development of Karnataka along with Bangalore. He saw no contradiction between the two. Some tried to divide people by pitting one against another in the development debate. "This is wrong," he said. A prosperous nation could be built through inclusive growth.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy announced that the monorail, which is to complement the metro rail, would come up on at least three routes. He said his Government would give the autonomy required for the Bangalore Metro rail management to expeditiously complete the project. He promised to make the rehabilitation of people affected by the project as "painless as possible." Ten trees would be planted for every one felled for the project.

hey guys,

my name is abhishek.......any idea who the 9 consultants are for the bmrc projects who have submitted their bids........have they selected any one...i heard RITES had the contract for the bypanhalli to the cricket stadium link....if anybody has any info...lemme know yaar...

take care
abhi

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/28/stories/2006062823680100.htm

Rs. 50,000-cr. investment expected in State next year
Plan drawn up to generate 4,000 mega watts of power in next two years
15,000 acres of land acquired in and around Bangalore for SSIs
Wipro, Infosys urged to expand their operations

Bangalore: An investment of Rs. 50,000 crore is expected in the State next year, while exports will touch Rs. 80,000 crore this year, said Minister for Major and Medium Industries Katta Subramanya Naidu here on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a function to distribute Export Excellence Award of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI).

Mr. Subramanya Naidu announced that all districts would soon be linked to the four highways of the Golden Quadrilateral Project to facilitate industrial development.

The Government had drawn up a plan to generate 4,000 mega watts of power in the next two years, he said. As much as 15,000 acres of land had been acquired in and around Bangalore for the development of the small-scale industries, he added.

Urging companies such as Wipro and Infosys to expand their operations in the State, the Minister said the Government was open to attracting every domestic and foreign investor and it would provide all the facilities for their growth.

http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/481/bangalore6ef.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img454.imageshack.us/img454/481/bangalore6ef.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Thanks for the Pic Arul.
but why did they design this way instead of going for more standard cloverleaf Junction?
Is that a huge water body on the right?
Could it be the reason for such a design?

Thanks for the Pic Arul.
but why did they design this way instead of going for more standard cloverleaf Junction?
Is that a huge water body on the right?
Could it be the reason for such a design?

babji,
clover designs require free squares on four quadrants of a T junction.
The NH7(N-S)-NH4(E-W) junction that you see in the pic has only one free quadrant(the North-East Square). The rest of the quadrants cannot be used.

there are still elements of clover in this design.
for traffic from right to the top has a 'normal' leaf' in the free quadrant. since the opposite quadrant is the hebbal kere(lake), they have reused the free quadrant, by elongating the leaf for traffic from top of the pic to the left. the other two leafs are de-folded.

The Bangalore-Shantinagar Bus Terminus (http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveportigal/120594319/)

This is the bus terminus and office complex built by BMTC. It now houses the offices of Blore Metro (BMRC)

Thanks for the Pic Arul.
but why did they design this way instead of going for more standard cloverleaf Junction?
Is that a huge water body on the right?
Could it be the reason for such a design?

A full cloverleaf was not feasible as mentioned by vadi. only 2 quadrants were available. of this one was the lake. the initial design had a cloverleaf over hebbal lake (built on stilts)..but due to environmental concerns it was redesigned in its present form.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1692362.cms

Bangalore woos foreign capital for facelift

BANGALORE: Authorities in India's technology hub of Bangalore are wooing foreign capital to crank up its creaking infrastructure to help lure back Western firms who are turning to other cities for outsourcing and IT services.

The government plans to build new elevated highways, widen existing roads, develop satellite towns and set up a $1.4 billion mass transit system in the city, home to more than 1,500 technology firms.

But IT industry officials said on Friday the government needs to speed up the projects and plan many more initiatives to sustain growth in India's Silicon Valley.

"We will encourage foreign investment in all areas of infrastructure building in and around Bangalore. Immediate approvals will be granted to all such investment proposals," Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy told the media.

He said the state would issue a global tender next month to build five satellite townships in a radius of 50 km (30 miles) of Bangalore, the capital of the southern Karnataka state.

But investors may be discouraged by an ongoing dispute between the state government and a consortium that is building an expressway from Bangalore to Mysore, 110 km (70 miles) away.

The state government has accused the consortium of buying more land than necessary for the $600 million project to build the road, industrial hubs and new townships.

Ashok Kheny, managing director of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise consortium, denied the allegation saying such controversy would be a setback for new private investment.

Bangalore boasts large facilities of global firms such as Microsoft Corp, Intel Corp and IBM but its rapid growth has led to traffic jams on potholed roads, overcrowded public transport and irregular power supply.

"Bangalore, which is essentially a brand that has been created painfully in the last so many years, is fast disappearing," said Rajendra Misra, managing director of private equity firm Tenet Holdings Private Ltd.

Misra, a member of an official panel set up to improve the city, said authorities had ignored infrastructure for too long.

"They (the government) are killing a golden goose."

Technology firms, which have helped transform a tranquil city into a buzzing metropolis of 6.5 million people that makes up a third of India's $23 billion software and back-office service industry, say Bangalore needs large investments.

"The new infrastructure initiatives will certainly help but we need many more projects like these," said Sunil Mehta, vice president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).

Bangalore now competes with other Indian cities such as Hyderabad in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.

On Monday, the world's largest wealth manager, UBS AG , began back-office operations in Hyderabad, where Franklin Templeton is setting up a unit and Microsoft also has facilities.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, India's top software services exporter, said earlier this month it plans to invest 5 billion rupees ($108 million) in a new software development centre in the western Indian city of Pune.

Industry officials say they are keenly watching the progress of other projects such as a new highway connecting the city to the Electronics City, which houses 150 firms including India's second-largest software services firm, Infosys Technologies Ltd. and its smaller rival Wipro Ltd. .

"We are getting good signals from the government. We need to have good governance and good project management to see the faster implementation of all these projects," said Anant Koppar, president of MphasiS BFL Ltd's technologies division

http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=132342

It's do or die battle for Bangalore: Srinath

To begin with, Bangalore has always had a very structured education system (basically science and engineering in particular), which explains the depth of its resources. And it was this depth, which played a vital role in grooming the city to become the country's IT hub.

The growing face of Bangalore became an attraction for people from across the country - especially Hyderabad (to emulate Bangalore as a model to catch up with the growing IT economy). The IT industry generated a lot of jobs and opened the doors for opportunity to the then restricted ambiance.

But everything has a natural progression and moving on those lines, today Bangalore has reached its saturation point. The resources have been completely utilised and for this reason the country's IT capital is finding it tough to lure more people.

Contrary to most of the developed country, where massive investments are being made with a vision to grow and expand in the future, Bangalore, as a city, was never geared up for such an unprecedented growth. And this explains the falling apart of the infrastructure. Although the IT industry has put the city on the 'growing economy' map, there are many drawbacks to it too. Every IT professionals owns a car and travelling from the north side of the city towards the south has become a tough task. The city is too congested. But no one wants to move out.

The idea to build a satellite town does not jell well with most of the people. And it is this city-centric mindset, which is the root cause to all the problems.

On the other hand it appears, Hyderabad is making good strides with more structured and planned layout. But at the same time I would like to add, if Hyderabad's IT development is city-centric, sooner or later, even Hyderabad would reach a saturation point. It's a natural trend and is not possible to escape it.

I feel in order to retain Bangalore's charm, a satellite town has to be made and all the IT firms have to be shifted there. This will help in decongesting the city and retaining the sheen of brand Bangalore.

Else, I would have to admit that Hyderabad has an edge over India's Silicon Valley!

babji,
clover designs require free squares on four quadrants of a T junction.
The NH7(N-S)-NH4(E-W) junction that you see in the pic has only one free quadrant(the North-East Square). The rest of the quadrants cannot be used.

there are still elements of clover in this design.
for traffic from right to the top has a 'normal' leaf' in the free quadrant. since the opposite quadrant is the hebbal kere(lake), they have reused the free quadrant, by elongating the leaf for traffic from top of the pic to the left. the other two leafs are de-folded.

A full cloverleaf was not feasible as mentioned by vadi. only 2 quadrants were available. of this one was the lake. the initial design had a cloverleaf over hebbal lake (built on stilts)..but due to environmental concerns it was redesigned in its present form.

Many Thanks Vadi and Sudipta for your updates.
we have a very unique design of a highway junction.
The one and only Hebbal Junction!

It looks like that 30 storey development at Brigade Gateway is finally gonna rise after nearly 2 years of nothing happening:
http://www.brigadegroup.com/software/northstar/index.htm

Photos of the construction site:
http://www.brigadegroup.com/software/northstar/status.htm

est. height in meters (3.5m for a commercial building, no spire, not accounting for irregularly sized floors): 105m. I hope they'll give it a podium or something.

Does anyone have the expected completion date, and is late '07 realistic?

BMIC project: review petition filed

source:http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/04/stories/2006070422080100.htm

The Government has filed a review petition on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) before the Supreme Court. The project has seen the coalition partners — the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — taking different stands.

While the Janata Dal (S) has sought takeover of the project, the BJP is wary of such a move and has maintained that the project promoters, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Limited, should be asked to go ahead with the project minus the townships.

The Government, sources said, had taken the first step in trying to "regulate" the project by filing the review petition and, thereby, seeking a legal recourse to the issue.

For the last few days, the Government had been saying that it would seek a review of the Supreme Court order of April 20, 2006, giving a green signal to the project.

In case the Government fails as far as the review petition is concerned, then it would have an option to file a curative petition.

Plea


The petition has the State admitting to the court that it has been severely affected by the judgment, which has far reaching consequences on the public exchequer and the welfare of general public, including future generations. At stake, it says, are thousands of acres of Government land and those owned by private parties worth several crores which would be irretrievably lost and accrue as unwarranted private gain to the developer.

Grounds


The petition has raised several questions: What is the actual requirement of land for Phase I and II which question was neither directly nor substantially in issue earlier? This arose only subsequently when survey numbers were sought to be ascertained.

Whether on a true interpretation of the Frame Work Agreement (FWA) of April 3, 1997 read with the Project Technical Report of 1995, real estate activity could be taken up outside the townships or around the interchanges?

The petition says as per the statement of objections filed by NICE, the area required for peripheral road is only 1,600 acres, which includes link roads, service roads, service changes and interchanges.

It is stated that from the total extent of land acquired, 60 per cent will be utilised for the road and 40 per cent for township and for other purposes.

est. height in meters (3.5m for a commercial building, no spire, not accounting for irregularly sized floors): 105m. I hope they'll give it a podium or something.

Does anyone have the expected completion date, and is late '07 realistic?

Well lets put it this way its gonna be taller than any of the UB City towers (apparently)

Btw i think completion in 2007 is a bit optimistic, id say mid-2008., but then again brigade-group are one of the more competent lot.

Then again, the centerpiece of UB City is set to be 128m to the top despite being only 17F.

Accenture Opens R&D Facility Unit Bangalore, India

Accenture has opened a research and development technology lab in Bangalore, its fourth R&D unit operated by Accenture Technology Labs. The company already has facilities in the United States (Palo Alto, California and Chicago, Illinois) and France (Sophia Antipolis).

The Accenture Technology Labs-India will focus on original research and development in systems integration and software engineering. The goal will be to enable businesses to reduce the cost and improve the quality of technology solution delivery.

"Technology innovation is a key driver of high performance. The role of the labs is to create a vision of how technology will shape the future and invent the next wave of cutting-edge business solutions and new ways to develop those solutions," said Scott Rose, Global Managing Director, Accenture Technology Labs. "In combining technology expertise with business acumen, our researchers take new and emerging technologies and create prototypes and cutting edge solutions that help our clients maximize future performance."

Accenture already has a significant presence in India through its Global Delivery Network, with 17,500 professionals working in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune, and serving more than 200 Accenture clients. Accenture's Global Delivery Network has more than 44,000 people around the world providing a wide array of services in system integration, application outsourcing, and business process outsourcing.

"The competitive strength of Accenture's operation in India is central to our success as a global company," said Don Rippert, Accenture's Chief Technology Officer. "Accenture Technology Labs-India will support our ability to drive further innovation in this ever-changing global delivery market. In Bangalore, Accenture's research team will be able to interact directly with the delivery teams responsible for some of the organization's largest and most complex systems integration projects."

At the lab in Bangalore, Accenture will research emerging technologies and approaches that can advance the software engineering lifecycle and systems integration approach. These innovations can be piloted directly with delivery teams located in the Bangalore facility. Proven innovations will then be rolled out to Accenture delivery centers that serve clients globally.

The Accenture Technology Labs-India will focus on the following areas:
- Service-oriented and distributed software architectures
- Collaborative technologies and processes
- Automated quality management for software development
- Data quality management and data services
- Testing theory and practice for software and systems
- Large-scale distributed workforce management techniques

"Choosing India as the location for its fourth R&D lab was a strategic decision," said Dr. Lin Chase, Director of the Accenture Technology Labs-India. "Bangalore is rapidly becoming a global hub for technology, R&D and software engineering. Some of the best researchers and developers in the world are based here and Accenture wants to tap into this wealth of talent to build on our research culture. We are hiring India's top talent to build assets that will fuel high performance for our clients over the next two to five years."

Dr. Chase said that research and development professionals from India's leading universities and research and software engineering institutes will staff the Bangalore facility. She estimated that the core team will grow to more than 100 researchers and developers.

The Bangalore lab will have access to up to 2,000 of the latest software development projects across Accenture. Supporting this will be Accenture's Experimental Software Environment (ESE), giving researchers hands-on experience with new technologies.

http://www.itnewsonline.com/showstory.php?storyid=4633&scatid=8&contid=1

IHHR goes for 2nd hotel project in Bangalore

Buoyed by a shortage of five-star rooms, IHHR (Indian Hotel & Health Resorts) Hospitality, which operates ‘Ananda - in the Himalayas’, will go in for its second luxury hotel in Bangalore. It is also preparing for its initial public offer (IPO) in 2007 to fund its foray into tier II cities in India and abroad.

The company on Friday announced the launch of its first hotel, Ista Trinity Church — a 143-room and suites located in prime city centre (old Lido theatre premises) near Trinity Circle built at a cost of Rs 82.5 crore.

Addressing a press conference to announce the group’s foray into Bangalore’s hospitality market, Ashok Khanna, managing director of IHHR Hospitality, said that the 70-room second hotel ‘Ista Golf View’ is to be built at a cost of Rs 45 crore and located in Koramangala on the inner ring road.

Rooms at ‘Ista Trinity Church’ are priced around Rs 10,000 for single rooms as a launch offer and is expected to fix prices for peak season post-October 2006.

‘Ista Trinity Church has two restaurants ‘Zaman’ — a dining restaurant with north Indian Awadhi cuisine and ‘Lido’ — a contemporary all-day indoor and outdoor dining. The hotel also has ‘Liquid’, an al fresco lounge bar with a view of the city. The company expects the Bangalore hotel to be profitable in the first month of its operations and is expected to break-even in four years, said Ashok Khanna.

Gautam Khanna, chairman, IHHR Hospitality said that group has lined up a Rs 500 crore capex plan to foray into city hotels scene.

http://www.business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?leftnm=1&subLeft=1&chklogin=N&autono=97647&tab=r

Hi, I am a regular to Skyscraper city and Bangalore entices me, can any one apprise me of JAIN SWADESH a 30 storey residential tower in Banashankari Bangalore, apparently it shall be the tallest building in Bangalore!

As in The Hindu

[FONT=Verdana]For decades, the 348 ft. Public Utility Building (Subhas Chandra Bose Tower) on M.G. Road occupied Bangalore's virtually non-existent skyline. The 24-storeyed structure built by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) symbolised the city's reluctant quest for vertical space.

Now, blank out the nostalgia for the past, stay mentally tuned for the ultimate vertical explosion. With real estate getting pricier by the minute, vertical route has turned the one-way path to cost-effective usage of space. From residential apartments on the outskirts to multi-storeyed commercial buildings in the city's heart, Bangalore's skyline has changed. That foreign, yet enormously appealing Manhattan image is suddenly too close. With 22 floors, the bundle of six South City Towers on the city's outskirts is a mini Manhattan by itself. The maze of new, mushrooming apartment buildings, most with 10 to 15 storeys and higher in the Marathahalli-Whitefield area, is testimony enough of the city on the vertical move.

The 256 ft. Lakeside Habitat building with 24 floors, fast coming up near the Hebbal Lake, should rank among the tallest in the city. But there are many more, taking their place right up there with the 21-floor Visvesvaraya Towers, the 17-floor UB Tower and the concrete jungle of vertically inclined private apartments from the stables of Brigade Gardenia, Brigade Millennium, Mantri Aquatica and The Gardens.

The tallest of them has 30 floors, dominating the skyline in Banashankari 6th Stage, near Uttarahalli. Built on a 1.5 acre plot, this building covers only nine per cent of the ground, leaving the rest for landscaping etc., explains Sanjay Gandhi, Vice-President, Jain Housing and Construction Limited.

Branded as "Jain Swadesh," the fully residential tower has been designed by architect Pankaj Vernerkar. Each floor has four designer apartments with good cross-ventilation. The building has high speed lifts, called Green Lifts, and rainwater harvesting. The beginning


Building tall structures was not always that simple as it appears to a layman today. Combating the downward pull of gravity, the original architects and builders of yore relied on bricks and mortar only to realise later that thickening the lower walls to build new upper floors was highly impractical. This technology could only lead to buildings not more than 10 storeys tall. The time was just ripe for the arrival of steel and iron.

And when the Bessemer process, the first efficient method for mass steel production, came architects simply moved away from iron and gave the thumbs up to steel, lighter than iron but much more stronger.

Bangalore is still aeons away from the mega skyscrapers of mega cities. But the technology that the behemoths use is bound to become common here too once vertical growth catches on. In most skyscrapers abroad, the steel skeleton forms the central support structure. Vertical columns are formed by riveting metal beams end-to-end. These vertical columns are then connected to horizontal girder beams at each floor level. For additional structural support, many buildings also feature diagonal beams running between the girders.

Now, this structure expands out lower in the ground. The concentrated weight formed by the columns is thus distributed over a wide surface. The whole weight of the building rests directly on the hard clay material under the earth. If the buildings are very heavy, the base of the spread footings are made to rest on massive concrete piers. These piers could extend deep down to the earth's bedrock layer.

The steel skeleton structure has one major advantage: Its outer walls, called the curtain wall, need only to support their own weight. That leaves the architects the freedom to open the buildings up.

leaving for Big Asia Trip tomorrow. If there are any completed projects you would like me to get pictures of, post it now in Chaibar thread. Also if there are any updates on projects you want me to get pics...Post NOW!!!

That's awesome, I wish I got to go to India!

How about some UB City and Imperial Tower pics?

http://infotech.indiatimes.com/Bangalore_may_become_wireless_broadband_city/articleshow/1855307.cms

BANGALORE: If things go as planned, Bangalore may emerge as India's first city with wireless broadband Internet connectivity in about two years.
Indications are that things are moving in that direction.
An empowered committee, headed by Prof Sadagopan of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, has been working on the venture for the last six months and it met here yesterday and shortlisted five companies for the project.
Karnataka's Principal Secretary, Information Technology (IT) Anup K Pujari said on Friday that the committee, whose members include those from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the industry, were given a presentation by the prospective companies.
"We are floating now the final request for proposals", Pujari said, adding that the State would bear no cost in the venture and it's role will only be of an "enabler".
"The companies will have their own revenue model. It (the venture) will be something which will be platform neutral", he said.
The idea is to provide broadband Internet access irrespective of the telecom service provider one gets service from. If one used the services on the move -- operating a palmtop or laptop -- service provider will charge interconnection charge, Pujari explained.
"Expectation is that consumer will pay less than what he is paying today (for wired internet broadband access)", he said.
While Pujari would not talk about the possible investment by these companies for the venture, and the time-line to get Bangalore "wireless broadband internet city", IT department officials talk about a two-year horizon.

B`lore absorbs 5.1mn sft of office space in 6 mths

Anil Urs / Chennai/ Bangalore August 09, 2006 Business Standard

Demand for office space in Bangalore continues to rise. Builders have received commitments to occupy over 5.1 million square feet of office space in the first six months of this year. This comes on top of the 3.2 million square feet of absorption that has taken place in buildings that are at various stages of construction.

The demand for office space is growing at a healthy pace and absorption for the rest of the year is likely to be along the same lines, said Ram Chandnani, head (south India operations), CB Richard Ellis. The software services sector has been the fastest growing in the IT/ITeS space, again the main driver of demand for office space in Bangalore. However, the high-end engineering companies are also expanding and continuously moving into consolidated large office space. About 9.4 million square feet of commercial space is under construction across the city in all micro markets (CBD, off-CBD and suburban) and will be ready in the next two quarters. Of this, over 4.5 million square feet of office space is coming up in Whitefield alone, said Ram Chandnani.

Rental values have seen a marginal increase in the CBD (central business district) areas like M G Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street among other areas and the non-CBD (non-central business district) areas like Koramangala, Indiranagar, Jayanagar and J P Nagar).

This is mostly owing to the lack of quality supply. Rentals in the city have remained stable in the other micromarkets. Capital values have witnessed a marginal increase across all micromarkets, he added.

In off-CBD areas, absorption continues with the existing corporates expanding and consolidating their operations and new entrants starting operations. Companies choosing non-CBD areas prefer to locate in proximity to employees, thus reducing the expenditure on employee transit.

However, due to a lack of ready space in this micro-market, corporates already based in the non-CBD areas are being forced to look elsewhere for expansion. About 9.90 lakh square feet of grade ‘A’ space is under construction in non-CBD areas and will be ready for possession in the last two quarters of 2006.

The suburban and peripheral areas continue to find favour with corporates with a long-term commitment to operations in the city. Projects in these micromarkets offer large floor plates, car parking facilities and expansion opportunities, said Ram Chandnani.

Keeping pace with the growing demand for office space in these micromarkets, about 7.8 million square feet of commercial office space is slated to come into the market over the next two quarters.

Aha - glassy tower demand.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=4062

Sasken Communications Technologies is likely to set up a special economic zone (SEZ) in Sarjapur Road on the outskirts of Bangalore spanning 25-50 acres with an investment of Rs 350-400 crore over the next 2-3 years.

Neeta Revankar, chief financial officer of Sasken, said the company is in the proces of identifying the land, and the location will be finanlised by January 2007.

"Sasken is looking at roping in a few of its clients to set up the SEZ," Revankar said, adding that, "over the next two years, we will be a 6,500 people company across all locations and the facility would be larger."

Subhiksha announces Rs 55 cr investment in K'taka

Created on : 08/09/2006 2:00:33 PM (NORMAL )

Bangalore, Aug 9 (UNI) Subhiksha, India's largest discount retail chain, today announced a Rs 55 crore rollout plan in Karnataka by way of opening 60 outlets in Bangalore and Mysore, to be operational over the next 12 weeks.

Briefing newspersons here, Subhiksha Managing Director R Subramanian said this would be the company's second market foray outside of home State Tamil Nadu, to be followed by entry into New Delhi. In Karnataka, Subhiksha would operate the telecom business vertical in addition to the existing supermarket, fruits and vegetables and pharmacy verticals.

He said the expansion was part of the already announced 600 store national rollout in five States during the next three years with a planned outlay of Rs 300 crore. He stressed that the business model focussed on ensuring that the customers could procure their daily needs at sharply reduced prices, including branded ones, with no compromise on quality.

Brigade Gateway

http://www.brigadegroup.com/apartments/gateway/architecture/imgs/persp.jpg

Springfields

http://indianpropertiesinfo.com/springfields.jpg

Earthwork for runway at Devanahalli completed

Our Bureau / Chennai/ Bangalore August 11, 2006 BUSINESS STANDADRD

Work on the new international airport at Devanahalli near Bangalore is progressing smoothly. Earthwork for the 4,000 metre runway has been completed and first laying of macadam mix has been taken up.

A BIAL release said installation of storm water drainage pipes is in progress for the apron area. The taxiway earthworks for the full length has been completed and construction works for over a length of 2,000 metres is in progress.

Work on the air traffic control (ATC) technical block is also progressing and concerting of the main shaft is on. The current height of the ATC tower is 44 metres out of the total 65 metres. At the terminal building, the work is progressing at different stages.

The new Bangalore International Airport is the first greenfield private sector-owned and operated airport in India with private promoters holding a 74 per cent stake in BIAL while the Central and state government agencies hold the remaining 26 per cent.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/11/stories/2006081112180100.htm

Bangalore-Mysore railway line doubling work to begin soon

Railway Minister responds favourably to State's request on the project

BANGALORE: Work on doubling the broad-gauge railway line between Bangalore and Mysore will be taken up soon and the State Government has earmarked Rs. 25 crore as its contribution to the project.

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy told presspersons here on Thursday that an all-party delegation had met Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in New Delhi and urged him to initiate work on doubling the railway line between the two cities. Mr. Prasad had responded positively to the request and told the State Government to hold a meeting with Railway officials to sort out all outstanding issues. The Government would issue a no-objection certificate for the project, he said.

The Mangalore-Hassan railway line would be opened to passenger traffic from next month, and Mr. Prasad would inaugurate it, he said. The Government had urged the Railway Ministry to expedite gauge conversion work on the Gadag-Bagalkot, Kottur-Harihar and Shimoga-Talaguppa lines, which had been pending for several years. A request had been made to the Railway Ministry to extend train services from Bangarpet to Kolar Gold Fields in Kolar district. Over 10,000 people commute between KGF and Bangalore daily. He said Congress MPs had appreciated his having met several Union Ministers in New Delhi and submitted separate memorandums on different issues.

The Government had sought Rs. 1,400 crore from the Centre for providing relief to areas hit by floods mainly on account of the discharge of water from dams in Maharashtra. A sum of Rs. 6,800 crore, including Rs. 1,600 crore for irrigation, had been sought from the Centre for welfare schemes for farmers.

Bangalore soars, bags Airbus wiring contract
[ 12 Aug, 2006 0021hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

BANGALORE: Bangalore shining: The city has yet again bagged electrical wiring work on the A-380 — this time the freighter version, A-380F. Airbus supplier P3 India which has brought this latest contract to the city, only two months ago secured contract for electrical wiring work on the passenger version, A-380.

P3 North America operations and India Director Oliver Napp confirmed that the German portion of the wiring work on A-380F has been transferred to Bangalore. He said Bangalore was chosen thanks to its high quality engineering services and IT.

P3 India will not only have its engineers, but will work with engineers from Bangalore-based software companies.
It has conducted negotiations with five companies and has shortlisted two as partners. The agreement on the work is expected to be signed in a week’s time.

The company, which supplies engineering services to BMW, Chrysler, and Mercedes, is looking at a 100 million dollar turnover this year. India and France will wire up the entire fuselage with each sharing 50% of the work.

Work will begin most likely in September before which Airbus officials are expected to visit Bangalore while engineers from Bangalore will travel to Hamburg. The initial strength of the A-380F team will be around 50. P3 India COO Krishan Bhalla said P3 will build electrical wiring a little less than 500 km which is the case in A-380 passenger.

A-380F, expected to be in service by 2009, is a threedeck, long-range freighter capable of carrying payloads of 150-tonnes non-stop up to 10,400 km with the lowest unit cost of any freighter ever. The A-380 is the first project where Airbus has launched cargo and passenger versions of an aircraft at the same time.

New wiring paths and airconditioning systems have been planned. According to Airbus officials, the sevenzone A-380F air-conditioning system will enable the hauler to accommodate different types of cargo, or in some cases, throttle back to generate up to 3% improvement in fuel burn.

Airbus expects an order for about 400 new freighters to be sold through 2023 in the very-large aircraft size.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/12/stories/2006081206580600.htm
Centre approves five SEZs in Karnataka

BANGALORE: The Board of Approval of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has given in-principle approval for setting up five Special Economic Zones (SEZ) with an investment of Rs. 2,216 crore in the State, which has lagged behind other States in developing such zones.

Minister for Industries Katta Subramanya Naidu said Infosys would develop an SEZ in the information technology sector in Mysore. It would come up on 30.99 hectares of land in the Hebbal Industrial Area of Mysore at an estimated cost of Rs. 334 crore. The other SEZs to be developed would be by SAN Engineering and Locomotive Ltd. The Board cleared the projects at its meeting held on August 8 in New Delhi, the Minister said.

The industries set up at the SEZs would be exempted from payment of income tax, excise and sales tax for 15 years.

http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=101433&subLeft=1&leftnm=3
4 SEZs in north K`taka get Centre`s approval

The Centre has approved in-principle Karnataka’s proposal to set up four special economic zones (SEZs) for various industries in the North Karnataka region.

The SEZ projects include pharmacy in Bidar, food processing in Raichur, steel in Koppal and foundry in Belgaum districts.

“The state government has decided to hand over the SEZs at Bidar and Raichur to private entrepreneurs for development. All the four SEZs are located in North Karnataka specifically to aid the development in that region, which is economically backward,” Karnataka’s industries minister Katta Subrahmanya Naidu told reporters here.

The approval comes a week after the Centre cleared another five SEZs proposed by
Infosys Technologies Limited on 30.99 hectares at Mysore,
Sele Engineering Locomotive Ltd on 10 hectares at Whitefield,
HCL Technologies Limited on 11.5 hectares at Jigani (Bangalore),
Quest Machining Manufacturers Private Ltd on 125.4 hectares at Belgaum
and Suzlon Infrastructure Ltd on 202 hectares at Padubidri, Dakshina Kannada district.

Naidu pointed out that there were certain “flaws” in the manner the Centre was sanctioning the SEZs.
“The Centre is contemplating restricting SEZs in each state to 150.
So far, Karnataka has received permission to set up 133 SEZs.
Another 31 applications for SEZs are pending. We cannot process them as the total number will cross 150. When compared with other states, our land use is less, as a majority of the SEZs is IT clusters. We will urge the Centre to sanction SEZs area-wise and not sector-wise,” he said.

On the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, Naidu said the government had received 72 applications seeking permission to start SMEs.
“These industries will be spread over 25,000 acres in Bangalore Rural, Tumkur, Kolar, Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli-Dharwad districts. Already 10,000 acres have been identified for this purpose,” the minister stated.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/16/stories/2006081619040300.htm
`Bangalore-Tumkur line doubling work progressing'
Sanction accorded to gauge conversion of Kolar-Chikballapur line

Bangalore: Work on doubling of Bangalore-Tumkur and Bangalore-Ramangaram railway lines are progressing. Work from Yeshwantpur up to Dodbele and Bangalore to Bidadi will be completed this year, Mahesh Mangal, Divisional Railway Manager, Bangalore Division, said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the 60th Independence Day celebrations organised by the Bangalore Division of South Western Railway here, he said sanction had been accorded for gauge conversion work of Kolar-Chikballapur line during the current year.

Mr. Mangal said the freight loading for the first four months of 2006 had increased by 11 per cent with the South Western Railway registering 4,99,000 tonnes as against 4,49,000 tonnes during the same period last year.

M. Mangal said passenger earnings had gone up by nine per cent and the division had earned Rs. 143.05 crore this year as against Rs. 131.11 crores last year. He said Bangalore division had 26 Passenger Reservation System centres, including one in Kolar.

A ceremonial parade was taken out by three platoons of the Railway Protection Force, Bharat Scouts and Guides and students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Shama Vidyashala and St. Philomena's High School.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/16/stories/2006081619070300.htm

BMP seeks Rs. 100 crore for road, stormwater drain works
BMP directed to plan flyovers wherever found necessary
BMP Commissioner asked to sort out technical problems regarding grade separator project

Bangalore: The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) on Sunday asked the State Government for Rs. 100 crore as assistance for its road widening and stormwater drains remodelling works.

To bolster their appeal, BMP officials have highlighted the recommendations made by the High court-appointed Captain Raja Rao Committee. The expert committee had said that the BMP needed to allocate at least Rs. 50,000 for the maintenance and operation of every kilometre of ward-wise road. The committee had suggested that the BMP seek financial assistance from the State Government for this aspect.

The BMP made its appeal at a review meeting convened by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. A review of work undertaken by the BMP over the last three months was held.

The BMP sought the Government's help in facilitating road-widening and stormwater drain remodelling works in areas where the land belonged to the Railways and Defence establishments. Mr. Kumaraswamy reportedly said he would take up the matter with the respective authorities in Delhi during his next visit. The Chief Minister directed the BMP to plan flyovers wherever found necessary. On the Malleswaram grade separator, Mr. Kumaraswamy reportedly asked BMP Commissioner K. Jairaj to sort out the technical problems and implement the project.

Suvarna Bangalore off : BMP's plans to refresh the city by taking care of roads, footpaths and parks among other things with the Suvarna Bangalore project has apparently not been approved by the State Government. The reason reportedly stated was that it would help only corporators make money and gain popularity as BMP elections are in November.

It has been said that the programme to be taken up under the "Suvarna Bangalore" was regular work that the BMP was meant to do.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/16/stories/2006081620460400.htm

`Plastic' roads: Delhi goes the Bangalore way
To use shredded plastic with asphalt to provide lasting road layer
Some stretches of `plastic roads'
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BANGALORE: Delhi has taken a cue from an experiment in Bangalore: using a mix of shredded plastic with asphalt to provide a lasting road layer. In Delhi's case, it is a question of having better roads in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games India is hosting.

Almost a year ago, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) had decided to use polyblend for upgrading over 40 per cent of roads to be taken up under the World Bank assistance. Smaller stretches had been re-laid with a mix of plastic and asphalt earlier with a good success rate in terms of wear and tear.

Over 140 km along 41 roads are now being upgraded at a cost of Rs. 140 crore under the Karnataka Municipal Reforms Project (KRMRP) this year. The civic body has used plastic waste to asphalt over 300 km so far.
The BMP, which is seriously planning recycling of dry waste in its new garbage contracts likely to implemented from next year, has initiated talks with the city-based K.K. Plastic Waste Management Private Limited for supply of the company's patented "K K Polyblend."

World Bank authorities approved the BMP's proposal to use plastic waste and experts from the Central Road Research Institute and also from the Bangalore University's Centre for Transportation Engineering have tested the strength and durability of these roads. Use of the shredded plastic waste acts as a strong "binding agent" for tar making the asphalt last longer, it was found. The private suppliers have the capacity of recycling 10 tonnes of plastic a day and the exact quantity required for the roads is being worked out as work progresses.

Studies by the Indian Roads Congress and other bodies has found that when plastic waste is melted and mixed with bitumen in a particular ratio. Roads laid with plastic waste mix were found to be three-times stronger than conventional roads. Rainwater does not seep through because of the plastic in the asphalt. And as each km of road with an average width requires over two tonnes of polyblend, using plastic will help reduce non-biodegradable waste.

http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=top&newsitem_no=17687

Virgin Comics has set up an animation studio in Bangalore where artists work on themes with a strong eastern influence. Reports NDTVPROFIT.COM.

"Bangalore is the true R&D centre for Virgin animation," said Suresh Seetharaman, president, Virgin Comics & Virgin Animation. "It creates all the content, be it art, content… and works with a complete network of people abroad who help us put it all together."

Four lines of comics are ready: DEVI, SADHU, SNAKEWOMAN and RAMAYAN. The comics will be available in India by next year. DEVI, which sold 10,000 copies in less than two weeks in the U.S., will likely be made into a theatrical release in the near future.

Seetharaman added, "India is huge and it is like searching for a needle in a haystack in terms of talent. But we are growing and we are trying to be a magnet in terms of attracting this talent," and make a sizeable financial investment training that talent.

The animation industry in India has a very small portion of the global pie at $6 billion the Indian site reports, but Virgin Comics expects it to increase to more than $60 billion in less than three years.

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Kids checking out the gaily coloured new buses lined up at the inauguration of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus depot at Hebbal, Bangalore today. (BS Photo)

thanks babji,
amidst all this chaos that is one entity in b'lore that seems to be logging innovations. not these buses, but stuff like grid routes, 3 door buses, smart cards, gis integration, distribution. no wonder they are raking in money.
blore badly needs a pipeline from chennai, kochi or m'lore, if only to for the sake of these guys.

i am desperately looking for a pic of their new mys rd terminal. (if you have any please do post)

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/Aug292005/gallery_thumb.asp

here is one for you Vadi.
KSRTC Mysore is really on a roll.
Other state RTCs have a lot to learn from them.
(I understand APSRTC mgmt visited them some time last year).

http://i8.tinypic.com/24qihyq.jpg

KSRTC Mysore : Top class!

Rajahamsa, Iravatha and Mysore Mallige bus services to other districts began from newly built KSRTC Satellite Bus Terminal on Mysore road in Bangalore on Sunday. DH photo

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/18/stories/2006081803000300.htm

Plans to make Bidar a tourist centre: Minister
The Bidar Utsav to be held this year may become an annual event, says Kashempur
NHAI has sought Rs. 40 crore for developing the Nanded-Bidar highway
Rs. 1 crore to be spent on sound and light show at the Bidar fort

BIDAR: The State Government is committed to developing Bidar into an international tourist centre, Minister for Agriculture and district in-charge Bandeppa Kashempur said here on Wednesday. He was addressing a citizens' consultative committee meeting on tourism development in the district.

"There are ample opportunities for the development of tourism in the district. We will use them and change the face of the district," Mr. Kashempur said. He said tourism development would be in the public-private partnership mode. He said the International Society for Krishna Consciousness had offered to donate Rs. 5 crore to beautify the historic Zarni Narasimha temple in Bidar. Endowment Minister B. Nagaraj Shetty would visit Bidar and announce the Government's stand on the development of temples as tourist attractions in the district, he said. The State Government was also planning to organise a Bidar Utsav this year and this would hopefully evolve into an annual event, he said.

A team of experts to guides and accompany tourists in the district would be constituted. He said Rs. 1 crore would be spent to set up a sound and light show at the Bidar fort. Minister for Transport Cheluvaraya Swamy had agreed to consider operating package tour bus services from Hyderabad, he added. The State had sent a proposal to the Centre seeking Rs. 9 crore to develop tourism in Bidar.

"The National Highways Authority of India has sent a proposal to the Centre asking for Rs. 40 crore to develop the Nanded-Bidar Highway. The centre has released Rs. 13 crore and the remaining amount will be released soon,"
Archaeology Deputy Superintendent S.S. Nayak sought the help of the Government in beautifying the lake inside the Bidar fort. "Basava Kalyan will soon develop as an international centre for tourist attraction. We will also develop a tourist circuit joining other important towns ," Deputy Commissioner Munish Moudgil said. He said the district administration would write to the Railway Ministry
to extend the Amritsar-Nanded Sachkhand Express train to Bidar and Hyderabad.

KSRTC leading the way!
What is a Low Floor Bus?

http://i7.tinypic.com/24wfur5.jpg

A low floor bus is a bus with a low floor from front to rear, to accommodate easy (un)boarding, especially for seniors, disabled persons, buggies and wheelchairs.

(Un)boarding is also faster with a low floor bus, because the able-bodied do not have to mind the steps, and wheelchair-users do not require the use of a wheelchair lift. Modern low floor buses also offer "kneeling" suspension, so the floor can be lowered almost to road level. At most a wheelchair ramp is needed to further facilitate access, which is much faster than a wheelchair lift.

http://i8.tinypic.com/24wfzx0.jpg

Japanese minibus used as city bus. Photo: Jota Suzuki

India's 1st electric bus may run in Mysore

August 09, 2006 03:11 IST Rediff News

Karnataka has proposed an electric bus system for the heritage city of Mysore at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore.

It will soon appoint consultants to prepare the feasibility report for the project. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had reviewed the project proposal on Monday. He told reporters later that assistance will be sought for the project from the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

"We will study the feasibility report and take a decision on implementing the project. But we are committed to provide a mass rapid transport system for Mysore, which is growing rapidly," he added.

Mysore will be the first city in the country to have the electric bus system, which is popular in many parts of Europe. The buses draw power from overhead cables that criss-cross the city. This transport system is considered eco-friendly as the buses do not emit any hazardous smoke or cause noise.

Transport Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy pointed out that the only disadvantage of the project could be the price of the bus.

"Each bus costs around Rs 1.50 crore. But we are committed to make the investment if the project is found feasible. Since Mysore is a heritage city, we will ensure that the aesthetics are not disturbed by the introduction of the electric buses," he added.

To begin with 100 buses will be deployed. He contended that several European countries were running electric bus system in a profitable manner.

"We will study all these successful models. Consultants with experience in running such electric bus system will be appointed to conduct the feasibility study," he said.

BMTC mobilzing Bangalore

http://www.batf.org/Stakeholders/Achievements/BMTC.pdf#search=%22low%20floor%20bus%20bmtc%22

A modal for all other Indian City RTCs!

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/17/stories/2006081721270400.htm

1,000 Volvo buses for BMTC, fares to be cut by 30 per cent
Plans afoot to build a bus depot every 2 km on Peripheral Ring Road

BANGALORE: To popularise the Volvo bus service, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is planning to reduce its fares by 30 per cent.

Announcing this after inaugurating the newly constructed bus depot at Hebbal, Transport Minister N. Cheluvaraswamy said the move was planned to ensure that people from all sections of society used the service so that the number of private passenger vehicles on the road was reduced.

Reiterating that BMTC would introduce 1,000 new no-frills Volvo buses, the Minister said Volvo Bus Corporation had agreed to provide the buses at lower rate of interest. Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and top Transport Department officials had discussed this issue with the officials of the Volvo Bus Corporation, he said. "We will have another round of discussions with the Volvo officials before introducing the buses in phases," he said. Later, the Minister told presspersons that the introduction of more Volvo buses was aimed at reducing the number of private passenger vehicles and easing congestion on city roads.

The BMTC now had 27 bus depots and would build 23 more. Land for the new depots was being identified and work would begin once the land was acquired, he said. BMTC planned to increase its fleet of 4,000 buses by adding another 1,000 buses. This would be in addition to the new Volvo buses to be acquired.

"We are looking at making profits and providing better service to people. Comfortable seats will be provided in all buses similar to those in Volvo. This is especially for the convenience of long-distance commuters," he said.

KSRTC buses: The Minister announced that the Government would add 1,600 more buses to the existing fleet of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), he said. BMTC Managing Director Upendra Tripathy said plans were afoot to set up more bus depots to accommodate new buses. "We are planning to set up one bus depot every two km on the Peripheral Ring Road," he said.

Ministers Zameer Ahmed Khan and R Ashok, Yelahanka MLA B. Prasanna Kumar, Bangalore Urban Zilla Panchayat president Renuka Gopalkrishna, Transport Commissioner M.C. Narayana Gowda, and Principal Secretary (Transport) D. Thangaraj were present.

Mr. Cheluvaraswamy laid the foundation stone for new bus depots at Srigandada Kaval on Magadi Main Road and at Surya City near Chandapur on Anekal Road. He inaugurated a new bus depot at Jigani Industrial area.

Work on Mysore airport in October
Gouri Satya / Chennai/ Mysore August 21, 2006 Business standard

After several assurances, the work on the much-delayed Mandakalli airport on the Mysore-Nanjangud Road may begin next month. It is set to be a Deepavali gift.

With the Airports Authority of India (AAI) deputing three senior officers — one each for technical, engineering and administrative matters respectively — and release Rs 40 crore, it is now become certain that the modernisation work of the airport will be taken up in the next few days, a year after the MoU was signed between the Karnataka government and the AAI in October 2005.

Mysore MP C H Vijayashankar held a meeting with the officials here and discussed the project at length. “Work will start in the first week of October,” he told Business Standard, adding that it will be completed in a year to make the airport operational for 75-seater ATR aircraft initially. Work will be taken up on the runway and other works on the 154.22 acres will be handed over to the airport authorities in a week by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) without waiting for the remaining 20.16 acres, the dispute over which is pending in the courts,” he said.

“The land owners have moved the court seeking a tax exemption on the compensation amount. Another 95 acres have been located for further expansion to enable mid-size aircraft to land. The land has been identified and notified for acquisition. However, two issues relating to the Mysore-Ooty highway and the Mysore-Nanjangud rail track need to be sorted out, as they are likely to come in the way of further expansion, the BJP MP added. As the area falls under a panchayat, there are a few other issues to be resolved like power supply. Hence, the AAI will hold a meeting of all the officials concerned from the Railways, PWD, other Central and state government officials in about 15-20 days.

Similarly, the work on doubling the Bangalore-Mysore rail track upto Ramanagaram will commence shortly as chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had promised to release the Rs 25 crore, this month. The Centre will release its share of Rs 20 crore. This will meet the project cost up to Ramanagaram, Vijayashankar said.

The entire track-doubling project will cost Rs 230 crore of which the state government’s share will be Rs 130 crore or 60 per cent. Replying to a question on the proposed projects being moved out to other cities from Mysore, the MP said: “We need not worry about the Fab City. Many software industries are ready to come to Mysore. The IT sector sees Mysore as the best alternative to Bangalore.”

“We should also be careful as to what sort of industries come to Mysore. Mysore is a tourist hub. Its culture and heritage should not suffer,” Vijayashankar added.

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/06/14/stories/2005061411050400.htm
How metro rail compares with monorail
Metro... First phase to cover 33 km estimated cost of Rs. 6,206 Crore ... Completion time is 5 years
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BANGALORE: The debate on which rail network — metro rail or monorail — will be viable, both financially and practically, for a burgeoning Bangalore has become polarised. And with the entry of the former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supreme, H.D. Deve Gowda, who has questioned the viability of the metro, and the Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, defending the decision, it appears that a solution to the transportation woes of Bangaloreans is not on the horizon.

The debate is all about capacities, cost-effectiveness and viability. Here is a comparison of the proposed metro and the monorail systems.

Metro rail: The first phase is expected to cover 33 km at an estimated cost (with escalation as of date) of Rs. 6,206 crores. The project is scheduled for completion in five years from the date of commencement of work. The total ridership claimed is 8.2 lakhs a day on completion of the entire project, but the population of Bangalore is less than 80 lakhs now. The metro capacity will be about 40,000 passengers an hour in each direction.

For the project, the State Government has to provide Rs. 1,807 crores, while the Centre will provide Rs. 1,447 crores, apart from a term loan of Rs. 2,953 crores. Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Ltd. (BMRTL), the implementing authority, has cash reserves of Rs. 216 crores plus Rs. 363 crores (share of BMRTL in infrastructure cess from 1998 to 2004) and expects Rs. 915 crores (share in next five years from infrastructure cess). The cost for 1 km works out to Rs. 250 crores (underground).

After the commissioning of the project, BMRTL will have to sustain losses for six years after which it will become a viable proposition, considering the movement of traffic, according to the BMRTL Managing Director, K.N. Shrivastava. The project runs 18.1 km in the east-west corridor and 14.9 km in the north-south direction and is expected to demolish many buildings along the way.

Monorail: The monorail proposal is for an 89.9-km stretch in two phases, covering the areas not covered by the metro. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 4,045 crores. The promoters, who were seeking government equity of Rs. 115 crores, have now dropped the idea of getting government equity. The promoters of monorail claim that it will cost about Rs. 45 crores for 1 km. The ridership is put at 12,000 passengers an hour in each direction, with the system operating at intervals of 90 seconds. The first phase of the project, if approved, will be from Jaraganahalli to Cantonment Railway Station (18 km) and is expected to be completed in two years.

BOOT basis: The company is seeking an aggregate of 60 acres of land on the outskirts of Bangalore to put up its depot, 40-year concession to run on BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) basis and right of way.

Metrail, the company that is behind the monorail system, claims that the project will be implemented with the least bit of inconvenience to the existing traffic network.

would any one know the status of monorail project for B'lore ...

North Star @ Brigade Gateway
Bangalore's tallest building
30 storeys high
1 million sft
State-of-the-art facilities
With a helipad and observation deck
Built to A-grade specifications
Set in a self-contained 40-acre enclave
Ideal for
- Corporate Offices
- Software Development

http://www.brigadegroup.com/imgs/june_06/02.jpg

Built to international Grade A specifications, North Star will be a marvel of modern architecture. Its one million square feet of built-up area will cover 30 storeys, with 35,000 sft floor plates. North Star will have the distinction of being Bangalore's tallest building.

North Star is also well located; set in the 40-acre self-contained Brigade Gateway enclave, in Malleswaram-Rajajinagar. Built using the latest construction technologies, North Star will provide all its occupants a state-of-the-art working environment, including a helipad and an observation deck. The building will also be connected to the hotel in the enclave through a sky bridge. The 9-level car park adjoining North Star provides parking for 2,000+ cars.

With its many world-class features and facilities, North Star will be ideally suited for corporate offices and software facilities.


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Orion Mall @ Brigade Gateway

Orion Mall will be Bangalore’s largest mall. Sprawling across a massive 800,000 sft on five levels. Designed as a lifestyle centre, Orion Mall will be based on a street-side design with plenty of landscaping and open spaces, making it an aesthetic and beautifully laid out shopping and entertainment destination.

Orion Mall is located in Brigade Gateway—a 40-acre lifestyle enclave—in Malleswaram-Rajajinagar. Master planned by leading international architects, H.O.K, the enclave will have separate and well planned residential, commercial and retail components. Home to over 1200 families and features that include a 5-star hotel, a 30-storey office tower, serviced apartments, school, club, hospital and more, Brigade Gateway will serve as a prime catchment area for visitors to the Mall. In addition, with several of the city’s five star hotels located in the vicinity of the enclave, Orion Mall will also draw in many prominent business delegates and visiting tourists from in and around North Bangalore.

http://www.brigadegroup.com/off_show/orion_mall/imgs/orionmall.jpg

Carefully planned to cater to changing urban lifestyles, Orion Mall will house everything from a Hypermarket, Department store and several retail and anchor stores to restaurants, cafes and a food court. Its entertainment and business facilities will include a 11-screen PVR Multiplex, stage and amphitheatre. Retail spaces at the Mall will range from 1,000 sft to 100,000 sft. The Mall will have ample parking at two basement levels and access to the multi-level car park in the enclave. It will also overlook the beautiful man-made lake—a focal point of the enclave.

Unobtrusive and self contained, yet satisfyingly large, Orion Mall will relax, entertain and delight its customers. While also fulfilling the needs of a neighbourhood that is starved for quality retail facilities. In all, Orion Mall will be a landmark in the retail industry, offering a fascinating, unique and one-of-a-kind shopping and entertainment experience everyday.

Cool render....but we need to go higher then the usual 30 floors in India....

:)

It is taller than UB City so it is taller than 126 meters

http://www.brigadegroup.com/software/northstar/imgs/artist_impression/prespective/1big.jpg
An aerial view of a section of
Brigade Gateway


http://www.brigadegroup.com/software/northstar/imgs/artist_impression/prespective/2big.jpg
North Star as seen from the
promenade. Orion Mall is on the
right and the 5-star hotel on the left.




http://www.brigadegroup.com/software/northstar/imgs/artist_impression/prespective/3big.jpg
A view from the lakeside
promenade showing (L to R)
a part of Orion Mall, the 5-star
hotel and North Star



http://www.brigadegroup.com/software/northstar/imgs/artist_impression/prespective/4big.jpg
A view of the 3-storey high atrium
at North Star

Magestom

Very nice renderings. All Glass & No Concrete. This concept for highrises need to catch on in India.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/news/pressmarket/infotechenterprisesbhoomipooja/infotechenterprisestobuilditsownpremisesbangalore/market/stocks/article/235529

Infotech Enterprises performed “Bhoomi Pooja” in the two acre land in Electronic City, Bangalore.

Mr. BVR Mohan Reddy Chairman & Managing Director, Infotech Enterprises Limited said: “I thank the Karnataka Government very much for allocating this land. He further stated that the Company has plans to immediately start building a facility (Phase-I) with 1 lakh sq.ft. area which can house about 700 workstations. In keeping with the growth trend of Infotech’s business, we have further plans to build another facility (Phase-II) of an additional 1 lakh sq.ft area in the same Campus to house more later, Mr Reddy emphasised.”

The new facility (Phase-I) will be a truly world class model and will have Audio Visual conferencing facility, Learning centers, Cafeteria and accommodation to meet the needs of the frequently visiting global officials: these facilities will be set to global standards and will be ready for occupation by end of 1 quarter of FY 2007 – Mr Reddy concluded”.

At present, Infotech has three rented facilities in Bangalore which house about 400 associates for different customers.

Kalam dedicates Karnataka dam to nation

India Press Release Distribution
Bangalore - President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Monday dedicated to the nation the Almatti dam in Karnataka, which will irrigate vast drought-prone areas of the state, and sought a long-term solution to control the recurring floods and droughts in the country.

Dedicating the Upper Krishna Project (UKP), christened Lal Bahadur Shastri Sagar, at Almatti in Bagalkot district of north Karnataka, Kalam recommended building layered wells in the entry points of Kosi river along the Gangetic region to control floods and store and utilise the surplus water during droughts.

‘Normally, flood waters have certain dynamic flow conditions. The layered wells assist gradual reduction in dynamic flow velocity after filling each storage well. The water thus stored will be useful during shortage period,’ Kalam said. Terming the UKP under Krishna basin as a multi-purpose facility, Kalam said the step dam would provide irrigation to over 622,000 hectares of command area in the drought-prone districts of Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga and Raichur and generate 290 MW of power at the dam site.

The president also suggested Karnataka to create a statewide waterway at a height of about 300 feet above the mean sea level based on the existing contour connecting the major rivers in the state that can also be used as a water navigation system. ‘Recent floods in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have caused damage to life and property. It is time we collectively find a solution to such occurrences,’ Kalam added.

Though the project cost was originally estimated to be Rs.1.2 billion, the state had incurred a whopping Rs.94.8 billion over the past four decades to implement it in stages, with delays and cost overruns forcing the state government to revise the expenditure upwards several times.

According to Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd, which executed the project, the dam is a multi-purpose utility, with a secondary dam at Narayanpur in Bijapur district and an extensive canal network. Funded by the World Bank in the initial years, the project had to be heavily financed with state budgetary grants and borrowings by the Nigam. Subsequently, the state government raised funds from the Centre under the accelerated irrigation benefit programme to complete the mega project.

‘The Upper Krishna Project has enabled the state irrigation department to utilise 173 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of the 734 tmcft Krishna waters allocated to Karnataka by the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal in May 1976,’ a Nigam official told IANS.

Investments in Karnataka on the rise: Kumaraswamy

Our Correspondent / Chennai/ Trichy August 22, 2006 Business Standard
Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy said that the industrial investment in the state was on the rise and during the last six months, the state attracted investments to the tune of Rs 23,000 crore.

Addressing mediapersons here, he said the investments were coming from both MNCs and domestic firms. On an average, not less than 10 to 15 new investors approached the government every month and the state machinery was geared up to process the proposals.

On the Cauvery issue, he said that only mutual understanding between the people of the disputing states can lead to an amicable settlement of the issue.

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=102195&leftnm=0&subLeft=0&chkFlg=


Bangalore is likely to witness the construction boom for the next three years with an estimated 20.5 million square feet of office space under construction and scheduled to be delivered by 2008-end.

According to international property consultants Knight Frank Research, of this huge office space supply, about 10.5 million square feet are to be ready this year while the completion of the remaining 10 million square feet will be spread over 2007 and 2008.

This new office space supply is skewed towards suburban and peripheral locations catering mainly to IT/ITeS companies.

There is no waning of interest in the city despite the issues like crippling infrastructure, rising real estate prices and increasing competition from neighbouring cities of Chennai and Hyderabad.

The city is expected to witness vigorous leasing activity this year, in line with the previous years, said Knight Frank Research.

The present vacancy rates for office space across micro-markets in Bangalore are less than 5 per cent. A reason for the low and steady decline of vacancy rates is the present supply situation prevailing in the central business district (CBD) and various micro-markets of the city.

“The absorption levels have increased significantly over the last few years, leading to lower vacancies across the office micro-markets in the city,” it said.

Office space rentals in the city, which had been relatively stable in 2005, has been registering an upward movement this year. This is a result of the CBD as well as the suburban areas witnessing a sharp rise in corporate demand.

According to Knight Frank Research, over the last one year, rentals in the CBD and off-CBD locations witnessed an appreciation of 10-20 per cent, whereas the increase in the suburban and peripheral locations was 5-15 per cent.

The quoted rentals in the CBD of M G Road are in the range of Rs 53-58 per square feet per month while those in the off-CBD locations of Cunningham Road and Richmond Road are in the range of Rs 45-50 per square feet per month. In suburban locations like Indiranagar and Koramangala, present rents have remained stable since 2005 and are reported to be in the range of Rs 35-38 per square feet per month.

In peripheral locations like Electronic City, Hosur Road, and Bannerghatta Road, the present rents are in the range of Rs 22-28 square feet per month.

Contrary to the trend prevailing elsewhere in the city, rentals in Whitefield underwent a correction in 2005-end by 10-15 per cent due to excess supply.

http://www.ciol.com/content/search/showarticle1.asp?artid=87730

BANGALORE: Nortel today announced the setting up of Nortel Technology Excellence Centre (NTEC) in Bangalore, which will focus on new product design, development and testing to deliver cost benefits to customers worldwide.

The total investment for the setting up of the center was not disclosed.

The 35,000 square foot NTEC is expected to employ 100 engineers by the end of 2006. The new center will focus on ethernet switching, advanced routers, security and VoIP technologies.

KC Venugopal, founding member of Tasman Networks, a router company that was acquired by Nortel in February 2006, will head NTEC. The center will initially house Tasman’s original secure router R&D team, based in Bangalore.

The center will cater to the needs of the Asian region. Nortel has eleven R&D centers in the world and Bangalore will be twelfth.

Ravi Chauhan, managing director, Nortel India, said, “This new R&D facility will complement our current enterprise infrastructure portfolio by incorporating feedback from customers to enhance our networks that support critical real time applications, including voice, video and streaming multimedia.”

To enhance its competitiveness in the India and global markets, Nortel has developed strong working relationships with large software houses such as Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Sasken technologies. The company has 400 customers in India.

Sterling, HDFC JV to set up township (http://business-standard.com/compindustry/storypage.php?tab=r&autono=102214&subLeft=1&leftnm=1)

Sterling Developers and HDFC Realty Fund, which forged a 50:50 joint venture in December last year, are to develop a township in Bangalore’s Whitefield area at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore. This includes the cost of the land.

The project will be spread over an area of more than 150 acres with a total built-up area of 20 million sq ft, said Ramani Sastri, managing director, Sterling Developers.

The first phase of the project will include 150 high-end villas with a total built-up area of 4 million sq ft. The price of each villa will vary between Rs 2 crore and Rs 3.5 crore depending on the size. The second phase will comprise 2,000 apartments.

Sterling is also set to make an investment of Rs 400-500 crore for its education and hospitality sector plans. The realty firm is looking to debut in the hospitality industry with one hotel each in Hyderabad and Bangalore. It bought the land for these hotels last year.

For managing these hotels, Sterling is in talks with one large international chain and one leading domestic chain.

Mysore slips up on heritage
Rs 2,000 cr. JNNURM plan

The Rs 2,000-crore city development plan for Mysore city under JNNURM is being reworked to increase the focus on the heritage conservation component. "Since Mysore is a heritage city, we were told to concentrate little more on that and not just on infrastructure projects, and we have put our architects on the job," says Dr. K.N. Chandrashekar, Commissioner, Mysore City Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka department of tourism has invited bids from firms for "preparation of DPRs for providing tourist infrastructure and conservation of heritage in the city of Mysore in accordance with the JNNURM norms." The estimated cost of the project is between Rs 60 and 75 crore, and bid documents for the same are likely to be available by the end of this month. Though the tender talks of heritage conservation, there is no budget earmarked for it and the department is going to concentrate on tourism infrastructure, according official sources at the tourism department. Tourism is likely to get Rs 310 crore for the JNNURM tenure.

"Mysore was one of the first cities to prepare a list of heritage structures way back in 1980s with a view to get it declared as a heritage city," says Krishna Vattam, Convener, INTACH (Mysore Chapter). Three years ago the city was declared a heritage city but it is yet to get any heritage conservation act or town planning act with provisions to take care of the 140 heritage structures. "Our concern about JNNURM project is that the infrastructure development in the city should be in conformity with the heritage aspect," says Vattam.

JNNURM has laid special emphasis on heritage conservation and it is also examining the proposals to check if their condition is adhered to in fine details in the CDPs. INTACH has suggested a central committee comprising experts be set up for heritage conservation and setting up subcommittees for the 10 heritage cities listed under the JNNURM.

http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=12006
Expressway to ease traffic snarls
PM News Bureau BANGALORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

An expressway will be laid from Outer Ring Road to Devanahalli to handle traffic snarls likely to come up with the development of Bangalore International Airport.

The decision was taken by an empowered committee on infrastructure. The expressway will be a link road between the airport and the city. The alignment for the expressway has been identified, which will start from Nagavara at Outer Ring Road to Devanahalli running through Peripheral Ring Road.

The expressway will be a four lane, 30 km access-controlled road, with a width of 100 metres. It will be developed by the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority. About 300 acres will be acquired at an estimated cost between Rs 300 crore and Rs 500 crore. Since the expressway runs through Peripheral Ring Road, it will be linked to NH-7.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/29/stories/2006082914380100.htm

Projects worth Rs. 62,864 cr. cleared

Special Correspondent

They will provide employment to 6.31 lakh people in the State

# Major projects Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited's proposed Rs. 30,000-crore refinery at Suratkal
# Four SEZs for IT and ITES to be set up by Tata Consultancy Ltd.

Bangalore: The State High-level Clearance Committee headed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday approved 40 projects worth Rs. 62,864 crore, which will provide employment to 6.31 lakh people in the State.

These include the ONGC subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited's proposed Rs. 30,000-crore refinery at Suratkal in Mangalore as well as expansion of its refinery at Katipalla in Mangalore from 9.69 million tonnes an annum to 15 million tonnes an annum with an investment of Rs. 7,943 crore.

Special Economic Zones

The committee has also approved four Special Economic Zones (SEZ) for Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) to be set up by Tata Consultancy Ltd. with an investment of Rs. 120 crore in Hubli-Dharwad; Rs. 410 crore in Mysore; Rs. 500 crore in Bangalore Rural; and Rs. 120 crore in Mangalore.

The proposal submitted by The Associated Cement Companies Ltd. for expanding its Gulbarga plant with an investment of Rs. 650.89 crore and for a new Portland Pozzolona Cement plant in Bellary district with an investment of Rs. 295.83 crore was also cleared.

The Rs. 750-crore cement plant to be set up by Jaykaycem Ltd. in Bagalkot district, expansion of Vasavadatta Cement plant in Gulbarga district costing Rs. 625 crore and the company's plan to set up a plant in Bellary district with an investment of Rs. 190 crore also secured the committee's approval.

The proposal submitted by Ultratech Cement Ltd. to set up a plant in Koppal district with an investment of Rs. 150 crore too was cleared.

Announcing the projects, Mr. Kumaraswamy said that Special Economic Zones in IT and ITES sectors accounted for Rs. 18,894.45 crore and these included proposals from Adarash Prime Projects; Bagamane Developers; Bagamane Constructions; Shapoorji Pallonji and Company; Hinduja Investments; Parsvnath Developers; Ittina Properties; Information Technology Park; ITASCA Software Development; Total Environment Building Systems; San Engineering & Locomotive Company; Blue Hill Informatics; and Karle Infra Projects.

The proposal submitted by Suzlon Infrastructure Limited for setting up an SEZ for hi-tech engineering industries in Udupi district with an investment of Rs. 246.08 crore and a printed circuit board facility to be set up by Wurth Ektronik India Ltd. in Mandya district with an investment of Rs. 180 crore got clearance.

285 proposals

Mr. Kumaraswamy said the State-level Single Window Clearance Committee (for projects with investments up to Rs. 50 crore) had cleared 285 projects with an investment of Rs. 5,370.54 crore and employment opportunity for 4.43 lakh people.

http://www.crn-india.com/breakingnews/stories/66304.html

Moveo Systems, a provider of next generation mobile solutions, announced the closing of its seed round of funding of US$1 million and the establishment of its first research and development centre in Bangalore. The seed investors are seasoned executives across a diverse cross-section of both multi-national and Indian companies.

Sankalp Saxena, founder and CEO of Moveo Systems, said, "We are very excited and honored to have such industry titans personally invest in Moveo. They are great visionaries and seasoned business leaders and their investment reinforces our vision for developing and delivering innovative mobile products for the rapidly changing mobile ecosystem. Their funding is a solid endorsement of our market opportunity,our management team as well as of our next generation solutions which deliver rich, interactive multi-sensory experiences to subscribers across both the consumer and enterprise sectors."

Ishwar Subramanian, managing director of Akzo Nobel, stated, "Innovation driven leadership coupled with compelling interactive mobile solutions was the catalyst for our investment in Moveo. We are confident of Moveo's success as their solutions fill a void in the mobile landscape by providing highly differentiated communication methods by which companies can reach out to both their internal and external stakeholders."