No takers for maintenance of multi-level parking facility at Freedom Park in Bengaluru

BBMP now proposes to lease it for three months on a pilot basis 

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has spent ₹78 crore on the multi-level parking facility at Freedom Park with the aim of easing congestion in the central business district area. While it will be completed by March-end, its opening is likely to be pushed back by another couple of months. The reason: there appears to be no takers for the operation and management of the facility.

The civic body has floated the operation and management tender three times, but received no response. Senior civic officials told The Hindu that this was recently discussed at a high-level meeting. Given the lack of response, it was decided to lease the facility for three months, and keep all the revenue generated during this period as a base. This will then help the civic body revise the conditions of the tender.

M. Lokesh, BBMP’s chief engineer (Projects), told The Hindu that they had studied all the parking models, including that of Forum mall, Garuda Mall, Maharaja Shopping Complex, and on-street paid parking system that has been implemented already on a few roads in the city. “We then used the calculations prescribed by the Public Works Department to arrive at the base price that would be most financially viable for the BBMP,” he said.