More than 30 years after a development scheme was first drawn up for the Chala market located in the heart of the capital city, the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority (TRIDA) has prepared a Rs.90-crore scheme for building a world-class commercial complex, a vegetable market, and two link roads on a six-acre plot it owns in the area.
The proposal submitted to the State government a week ago moots a self-funding two-stage construction plan wherein the vegetable market, a rehabilitation block, and two link roads will be constructed first.
Three years
This is expected to be completed in six months. The entire project is expected to be completed in three years.
R. Ajit, Chief Engineer, TRIDA, told The Hindu that the authority intended to follow the funding model it put in place for the construction of a bus stand-cum-commercial complex in the Government Medical College area.
“What we essentially did was to auction floor space and collect a security deposit in two or three instalments. We found that we had cash to spare at each stage of the construction which is nearing completion,” he said.
Though TRIDA estimated that it would get about Rs.20 lakh per shop in the complex at the medical college, it ended up getting much more.
Link roads
According to the project sketch prepared by TRIDA, the 613 cents of land the authority owns and the one acre land it plans to acquire will be bounded on the east and west by roads linking Chala market with the Attakkulangara bypass.
The 12-m and 21-m roads are expected to relieve traffic congestion in the market area. The world-class commercial complex will be constructed in the second phase of the development project.
Waste treatment plant
There will be three blocks for this complex, each of which is expected to cost Rs.25 crore to build.
The State government is also understood to have zeroed in on a plot of land in the area yet to be acquired by TRIDA for setting up one of the decentralised solid-waste treatment plants it plans for the capital city.
‘Not a hassle'
Mr. Ajit said the funds which would come in for the plant would also speed up the acquisition of the land. “Far from being a hassle, I expect the proposed treatment plant to be a boon, particularly for the vegetable market we plan to build," he said.
“The waste generated there can be treated almost at source. The operations of the plant will also not affect the functioning of the commercial complex,” he said.
In the sanctioned master plan for the capital city, Chala is scheduled to be developed into a ‘district shopping centre.'
In 2008, the executive committee of TRIDA had approved the construction of a commercial complex, rehabilitation blocks, a bus stand, and a vegetable market on a BOT basis. But this scheme did not materialise.
Mr. Ajit said he anticipated no roadblocks in securing government sanction for the scheme. “Most of the 7.16 acres of land needed is with us, we do not need government funding, TRIDA had the expertise to oversee the construction work. Now all we need is the administrative sanction from the government,” he pointed out.
