Multi-level parking: BBMP floats fourth tender with revenue-sharing option

Having received no response for three previous tenders, the BBMP is now inviting a fresh tender

The multi-level car parking facility built in Freedom Park at an astonishing Rs 80 crore has remained non-functional for nearly a year as the BBMP struggles to find a company to operate it.

Having received no response for three previous tenders, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is now inviting a fresh tender with a revenue-sharing model.

“Initially, we had a fixed charge of Rs 4.5 crore that had to be paid to the BBMP. Though the rate was decided based on the parking charges in the surrounding areas and the vehicle density, the bidders had demanded it be slashed by 50%,” explained a senior BBMP official.

Owing to such demands, the BBMP has now opted for a revenue-sharing model where the bidder, who will operate and maintain the facility, will only retain part of the revenue as a service charge and deposit the remainder with the BBMP.

The civic body has also increased the operation period from three years to five years and has considerably reduced the security deposit.

Efforts to operationalise the facility started in August 2021 when the civil works at the site were nearing completion. Since then, from marking the adjacent roads as ‘No Parking’ zones to bringing many of these roads under the pay-and-park system, the BBMP has tried numerous options to get the facility up and running. However, none of them materialised.

In case the tender call fails to garner a response once again, the BBMP is looking at running the facility for free for a short period. “We are hoping that the revenue-sharing model will work. However, in case bidders are still wary about the footfall and business, we are planning to operate the facility for three months and offer it to the public free of cost to gauge the footfall,” said a senior BBMP official.

Work on the project, which started in 2017, missed multiple deadlines and was finally completed in November 2021. The facility can accommodate 556 four-wheelers and 445 two-wheelers.