Hudco to fully fund Bengaluru Business Corridor at 9% interest

Bengaluru: The 73-km Bengaluru Business Corridor (BBC), which will form a semi-circle on the outskirts of Bengaluru, is set to become a reality.

The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), a public sector undertaking, has agreed to finance the entire project cost of Rs 27,000 crore through a long-term loan at an interest rate just under 9 per cent per annum. The state government has reportedly accepted the offer. 

Officials are hopeful of repaying the loan on time as they expect the road to generate a minimum of Rs 600 crore a year through toll. It will also raise funds through value capturing schemes and auctioning excess land that is not required for the eight-lane road. The 73-km stretch will be 50 metres wide but the government will acquire 100 metres of notified land to fund the project. 

On Wednesday, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar reviewed the project with top bureaucrats, which is about two months after the state government agreed to stand as guarantor to fund the project.

He reportedly gave his consent to start the acquisition of 2,560 acres, which will be based on the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) Act but "on par with the market rates". The BDA will sit with the land-losers to negotiate the prices individually, officials said. 

While the farmers have been demanding compensation as per the 2014 Act, the government has cited the Supreme Court order to back its decision.

Not following the Centre's Act is likely to attract income tax on the compensation, which will be a double whammy as the guidance value of the land notified for the project was recently brought down.