In a major move, the Karnataka government has decided to develop a new city in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) to decongest the city of Bengaluru.

According to the 2011 census figures, Bengaluru had a population of 8,495,492 people.

On Tuesday, Urban development minister Roshan Baig told reporters in Bengaluru that 11,000 acres of Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) at KGF, will be developed to accommodate 20 lakh people. 

BGML, a public enterprise, was shut down in 2001 after over 150 years of continuous extraction exhausted the ores. 

The estimated cost of the project will be known only after the preparation of a detailed project report by a global agency, the minister said.

The minister assured that all the aspects including sewerage, electricity, roads and housing have been taken into consideration while developing the new city.

To meet the drinking water requirements of the new city, desalination plants will be set up in the four coastal areas of Udupi (Rs 735.30 crore), Mangaluru (Rs 2,533.61 crore), Saligrama (Rs 76.71 crore) and Kundapura ( Rs 154.42 crore).

This will be a joint venture of Israel-based IDE and Vagas of Indian firm, say reports.

The seawater from Mangaluru will be supplied to the new city through the Yettinahole project, the minister said.

A special purpose vehicle will be created and private investors will be roped in for the project.