With no contractors to take up the redevelopment of K R Market under the Smart Cities Mission, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) Bengaluru Smart City Limited (BSCL) is all set to float a new tender.

The BBMP had floated a tender for the said project that costs Rs 59 crore on March 7, which did not see any bidders. Another tender floated in May did not see any takers as well.

BSCL superintendent engineer Raghavendra Prasad confirmed the two tenders failed and could not attract bidders. “We have now decided to float a new tender in confidence so that we will see some takers for the project. The tender will be floated by July 12 ,” he said.

According to Raghavendra Prasad, many contractors had shown interest for the project during the pre-bidding meeting but no one came forward. “The main concern of the bidders is that in places such as the K R Market they feel unsafe. They think work cannot take place in the same pace as in other places as they will have limited time. Many contractors say the materials are not safe to be kept in such areas fearing theft,” he said.

The project involves works such as upgrading the main market, meat market construction, 365 m long pedestrian bridge traversing Chickpet metro station-Meat Market-K R Market bus stand, loading-unloading bays, vending plazas and other modern aesthetics. According to the BBMP, the entire project would take 18 months for completion.