The Hindu

MANGALORE, Mar 1: The long-pending plan of the Mangalore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to construct a multi-storied car parking and commercial complex in the heart of the city appears to be taking shape now.

It had been decided to take up the Rs. 29-crore project under public-private partnership. One of the four companies, which had evinced interest in the project, based at Chennai, recently participated in a pre-bid meeting, according to MUDA Commissioner P.G. Ramesh.

The complex will come up at the Old KSRTC bus-stand at Hampanakatta. The 1.52-acre plot identified there for the parking facility has been lying vacant after the bus stand was shifted elsewhere a few years ago, even as people have started parking their vehicles there in a haphazard manner.

Stating that the project had been delayed because of a delay in obtaining the approval by the Government, Ramesh said that the authority had invited bids for the public-private partnership project immediately after getting the permission for it.

The representatives of the Bangalore-based Infrastructure Development Corporation of Karnataka (IDEK), which had prepared a report on the project, also attended the pre-bid meeting, Ramesh said. The four companies had been given time till March 17 to submit their bids, he added. At present, a few cars and some two-wheelers were being parked in that place.

The proposed complex would accommodate 300 cars at least, Ramesh said. That was only a tentative figure, he stressed. The private companies were free to make their evaluation and submit proposals. The commercial area of the building, which the builder could sell, was part of the project. M.K. Gadkar had, during his term as Commissioner of the MUDA, suggested that the complex could accommodate 600 cars.