India and the Asian Development Bank have agreed to a $500 million loan to develop the Bengaluru metro rail network.

On Monday, India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $500 million loan agreement to extend Bengaluru’s metro rail network with the construction of two new metro lines totalling 56 kilometres in length.

The agreement was signed by India’s Additional Secretary, Economic Affairs, Rajat Kumar Mishra, and the lender’s Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, Takeo Konishi.

“The additional metro lines would further improve Bangaluru’s safe, cheap, and green mobility, with a beneficial influence on increasing quality of life, sustainable growth in urban habitat, and livelihood possibilities,” Mishra added.

“The project promotes Bengaluru’s urban transformation into a more livable and sustainable city by supporting urban public transportation and urban development using ideas of transit-oriented development (TOD) and multi-modal integration (MMI),” Konishi added.

The project can provide several benefits, including reduced traffic congestion, improved urban livability, and environmental enhancement. The TOD-based urban development plan will aim to realign growth and boost the city’s economic productivity by constructing higher density, compact, mixed-use, mixed-income, safe, resource-efficient, and inclusive communities. TOD also intends to increase land prices along these corridors, producing capital income for the state government to fund the city’s long-term investment requirements.

Through the seamless integration of various means of public transportation, the MMI will seek to deliver people-oriented, environmentally friendly solutions as well as a safe, comprehensive mobility solution for all city inhabitants.

With 30 stations, the proposal will build two additional metro lines, largely elevated, along the Outer Ring Road and National Highway 44 between Central Silk Board and Kempegowda International Airport.

An extra $2 million in technical support from the ADB will assist the state government in developing urban development plans and implementing frameworks, with an emphasis on TOD and MMI. The money will also be utilized to build the ability of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd and other state agencies to carry out these projects.