B-SMILE corners 14% of total outlay of budgets of five corporations

B-SMILE secures 14% of five corporations' budgets, totaling ₹2840.55 crore for infrastructure and loan repayments in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru Smart Infrastructure Limited (B-SMILE), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up by the State government to execute large-scale infrastructure projects such as the twin tunnel road and elevated corridors, has cornered ₹2840.55 crore, 14% of the total outlay of all five corporation budgets — ₹20217.66 crore. While a part of these funds will fund major infrastructure works in the city, a major chunk will go towards repaying loans raised by the SPV to fund tunnel roads.

Under the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), BSMILE had submitted an undertaking to Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) — which gave a loan of over ₹19,000 crore for tunnel road phase 1 — that advertisement and premium Floor Area Ratio (FAR) revenue from the city will be credited into an escrow account towards repayment of the loan.

While the other corporations will transfer portions of their premium FAR and advertisement revenues to B-SMILE, the West City Corporation will not do so. Instead, it will transfer ₹635.5 crore for works within the corporation under the Sugama Sanchara Bengaluru initiative as part of the Brand Bengaluru programme. 

Both North and South corporations will transfer their full revenue from ads and Premium FAR to B-SMILE. The North Corporation will transfer ₹420 crore from premium FAR revenues, ₹54 crore from advertisement fees, and an additional ₹139.4 crore towards Sugama Sanchara Bengaluru. Similarly, the South Corporation will contribute ₹360 crore from premium FAR and ₹126 crore from advertisement revenue, along with ₹139.4 crore earmarked for Sugama Sanchara Bengaluru. 

The East Corporation has projected ₹120 crore from advertisement revenues and ₹600 crore from premium FAR, transferring the entire amount to B-SMILE. The Central City Corporation will transfer 50% of its revenue from these sources — ₹71.25 crore from advertisement fees and ₹175 crore from premium FAR — to the SPV. Both East and Central corporations will not contribute to B-SMILE for their own works under Sugama Sanchara Bengaluru.