The Devanahalli toll plaza, located near Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), generated a staggering Rs 308 crore in revenue during the financial year 2023-24. This was revealed in a response in the Rajya Sabha regarding user fee collections on national highways across the country, The Indian Express reported.
Over the past decade, the toll plaza has amassed Rs 1,577 crore, establishing it as the highest revenue-generating toll plaza in Karnataka. Its previous peak collection was Rs 187 crore in 2018-19.
A key factor contributing to the high revenue is the plaza’s strategic location on NH 44, the primary route connecting Bengaluru to KIA, India’s third-busiest airport. The highway sees heavy traffic due to the millions of passengers commuting to and from the airport each year.
In 2023-24, Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) achieved record-breaking passenger and cargo traffic, with 37.53 million passengers and 439,524 metric tonnes (MT) of cargo handled. The airport catered to 32.86 million domestic passengers and 4.67 million international passengers during this period. This marked significant growth from previous years, with 31.91 million passengers in FY23, 16.29 million in FY22, 10.91 million in FY21, and 32.36 million in FY20.
NH 44, a key commercial corridor connecting Karnataka with neighboring states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, also plays a vital role in sustaining freight and passenger traffic through the toll plaza near KIA. This constant movement has been instrumental in driving high toll collections.
On the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, the Kaniminike and Sheshagirihalli toll plazas together collected Rs 180 crore in user fees during 2023-24. Individually, Kaniminike recorded Rs 7 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 91 crore in 2023-24, while Sheshagirihalli collected Rs 5 crore and Rs 77 crore during the same periods.
The Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, now a six-lane expressway, has drastically reduced travel time between the two cities from over three hours to approximately 90 minutes. This enhanced connectivity has significantly increased vehicle traffic on the route.