Parking complex plan gets rebirth under 'Smart City'

When finding parking space especially for cars is a tough task near the central commercial district of Hubballi City, and roadside parking is causing traffic congestion, the long-pending proposal to have a multi-level car parking (MLCP) has got a rebirth under the 'Smart City' project.

The plan to develop a MLCP facility is almost a decade-old plan, and the proposals of the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) in this regard could not materialise. Now, the MLCP has been included as an important component to streamline the vehicular traffic, in the Smart City plan. The MLCP project report prepared by the Smart City project management consultancy is now under scrutiny by the technical committee of the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development & Finance Corporation (KUIDFC).

Around one acre of land near the Court Circle is in possession of the HDMC, after it gave an alternative land to the Public Works Department (PWD). However, the HDMC could not construct a multi-storeyed parking complex there, even after several efforts. Now, vehicles are being parked in the open space there, but this has not solved the parking problem.

PPP model

After the Smart City project was announced for the twin cities, the initial plan was to develop MLCP under the Smart City fund itself. Later, it was decided to take it up on a public-private partnership (PPP) model, as it would be an income generating facility. This will be one among the plans for which private players would be invited during the Smart City investors' meet to be held in Bengaluru on January 9.

The plan is to provide parking space for at least 290 cars. Out of the proposed 1.22 lakh square feet of built-up area on 37,600 square feet site, 35,000 square feet of area is proposed to be given for commercial activities.

Revenue generation

In addition to parking fees, rent from commercial area and digital advertisement boards would be the revenue sources for the investors, who would handle the project on DBFOPT basis. Along with modern parking technology, rainwater harvesting and rooftop solar are also in the plan.

"As the construction would be of steel, it would not take much time to prepare a B+G+3 structure. After getting the required approvals, the tender process would begin for this Rs 42 crore project," says Hubballi-Dharwad Smart City Project Limited special officer S H Naregal.

Meanwhile, smart parking facilities on PPP model would be developed in the basements of Janata Bazar and MG Market which are to be reconstructed, he noted.

Within one or one-and-a-half-months, we are planning to start the tender process for 11 works worth over Rs 100 crore under the Smart City project, Mr Naregal said, adding that tenders are already floated for electric crematorium, litter-free zones, smart bio-toilets (e-toilets), and rainwater harvesting system.