Tenders floated for multi-level car parking at Freedom Park

The multi-level car parking (MLCP) facility at Freedom Park, which has been lying unused for over six months now, may soon be operational with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) floating a new tender to manage the facility.

However, along with the MLCP, parking bays on 12 roads around Freedom Park will be converted into pay-and-park facilities.

The service providers, who had shown interest in the tenders floated by BBMP to manage the parking facility, had pointed out that it may not be viable to manage only the MLCP owing to free parking available in streets around the facility. They had also requested to bring down the reserve price by 50 per cent from Rs 4.5 crore to Rs 2 crore.

Considering their demands and the need to operationalise the facility at the earliest, BBMP has now decided to go for a revenue-sharing model instead of a fixed reserve price.

“We floated three tenders but none of them fetched a response. Hence, based on the demands made during the pre-bid meeting, we decided to go for a revenue-sharing model,” a senior BBMP official said.

Yet another official added that advanced technology will be put into use at the facility. “We have insisted that smart parking management systems be utilised to ensure the revenue collected is recorded accurately. BBMP officials will also record and monitor the entry and exit of cars to make sure the revenue is accurately projected,” said Lokesh M, BBMP Chief Engineer (Projects).

BBMP also plans to introduce monthly passes and online parking reservation facilities along with a dedicated mobile application and a web portal. Though the facility was ready by November 2021, BBMP has not been able to open it up since no service provider has come forward to manage the facility.