The popular tourist destination of Nandi Hills on Bengaluru's outskirts is set to get its own ropeway.
The state Cabinet, which met on Thursday, has given green signal for the development and operation of passenger ropeway at Nandi Hills under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Weekends and public holidays see Bengaluru residents make a beeline to the popular hill top picnic spot. It has also emerged as a must visit stop on visiting tourists' itineraries.
The overall project will be undertaken at a cost of Rs 93.40 crore in PPP model on Design Build Finance Operate Transfer (DBFOT) basis.
The proposed ropeway will be 2.93 km long and will have 18 towers with round trip time of 28 minutes with 50 cabins and 10 passengers in each gondola. It also includes other modern amenities for tourists like restaurant, food court and shops, a government official said.
Expressing his happiness on the cabinet nod for the long-awaited ropeway project, state Health Minister and Chikkaballapur MLA K. Sudhakar said, "Nandi Hills located in Chikkaballpaur district, just around 60 km from Bengaluru, has emerged as a popular weekend getaway for youngsters.
"Apart from its rich biodiversity, trekking trails and scenic beauty, the presence of historic Bhoganandishwara temple makes Nandi Hills a potential must-see tourist destination in Karnataka," said the minister.
"With passenger ropeway and other modern amenities, Nandi Hills will become an international tourist destination and will be a significant milestone in the development journey of Chikkaballapura," he said.
The ropeway project will also help cut down vehicular traffic to the hill top, noted the minister.
