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Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar on Friday issued a strong warning to the contractors working on Namma Metro's Blue Line, which connects the city to the airport. He instructed them to follow the construction deadlines strictly and said that any contractor who fails to meet the targets will be
blacklisted from future government projects.
Metro at Kodigehalli
After inspecting the metro work at Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, he briefed the media about the timelines promised by the contractors. He stated that the KR Pura-Silk Board stretch, covering 19.75 km, is expected to open by December 2026. The Hebbal-Airport section (27.44 km) is targeted for completion by June 2027, while the KR Pura-Hebbal stretch (11 km) is expected to be ready by December 2027. He also indicated that the KR Pura-Silk Board deadline has been extended again from September to December 2027.
Train Services on the Blue Line
Shivakumar added that authorities are considering starting train services on portions of the Blue Line as soon as 5-6 stations are completed. In total, the full airport line from Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport will include 30 stations.
The 58.19 km Blue Line project has been split into five major work packages. Afcons Infrastructure is responsible for the Silk Board-Kadubeesanahalli section, SNC Construction for the Kadubeesanahalli-Baiyappanahalli stretch, and NCC Ltd is handling three segments between Benniganahalli and the airport. Work on the KR Pura-Hebbal section was halted for nine months after a fatal accident at HBR Layout in January 2023.
Shivakumar stressed that, regardless of the company, NCC, or anyone else, delays will not be tolerated. He also mentioned that the accident led to construction restrictions, limiting work mainly to nighttime because of traffic. He added that launching girders cannot be moved out of the city until the local work is finished. Additional Chief Secretary Tushar Girinath will supervise the project regularly, along with BMRCL MD J. Ravishankar and other officials.
His review took place just two days after Revenue Minister and local MLA Krishna Byre Gowda inspected another stretch of the project, where he sharply criticised a contractor, asking whether building a metro pillar required "rocket science."
