Nandi Hills Ropeway Project: Karnataka Government Approves ₹93.4 Crore Plan To Build 2.93 km Ropeway At The Popular Getaway Near Bengaluru

Karnataka Cabinet on Friday (Feb 18) gave a go-ahead for the construction of a ropeway at Nandi Hills under a public-private-participation (PPP) model. The move is set to provide a further boost to tourism at Nandi Hills, among the preferred weekend getaways for residents of Bengaluru. The hills, located in Chikkaballapura district, is at a distance of 60 km from the city.

With the cabinet nod coming through, a tender will be invited for the construction of the ropeway at an estimated cost of ₹ 93.40 crores.

The successful bidder will be allocated the ropeway project under DBOT (Design Build Operate Transfer) Model.

The 2.93km long proposed ropeway will comprise 18 towers. Each round-trip will take 28 minutes. It will come up at a height of 300 metres.

Cabinet has also approved 50 cabins for the ropeway project where passengers will be seated. In one cabin, 10 people can be accommodated. The project will also include development of infrastructure to provide amenities like restaurant, food court, shops etc.

State Health minister K Sudhakar, who represents Chikkaballapura in the state assembly, said, “With the ropeway and other amenities like restaurants, food court and shops, Nandi Hill will become an international tourist destination.”

"The site is already famous for its rich biodiversity, trekking, viewpoint and historic Bhoganandeshwara temple.” he added.

The state government had roped in AarconInfra, the company with good experience in executing ropeway projects worldwide and has installed 64 ropeways in different states in India and abroad, to do a feasibility study for the project.

Karnataka plans to develop ropeway infrastructure in three other places -Jog Falls, Kemmanagundi and Chamundi Hills. While ropeway projects have been proposed regularly, it has failed to take off due to forest regulations and ecological concerns.

Even the proposed ropeway Nandi hill faces opposition from environmental activists who claim that it is an ecologically sensitive forest area that is already under enormous pressure due to the rapid urbanisation of Bengaluru

In 2021, an ambitious ropeway project proposed at Chamundi Hill faced strident opposition from environmental groups who say that the project will not only spoil the environment but also disturb the sanctity of the religious destination.