After having failed to attract many bidders for its tenders to construct skywalks in the city, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has invited bids for the fifth time now. Civic authorities are hopeful that the jinx will finally be broken this time, and if their optimism proves to be correct, pedestrians can look forward to a safer 2017.
“The pre-bid meeting for 85 skywalks on Friday saw over 30 firms participate, which is unprecedented for such a project in the city,” said Prahlad, chief engineer, Road Infrastructure, BBMP. “Some of the relaxed tender norms have helped us attract more bidders. The last date for submitting the bid is likely to be extended till January 16,” he said.
Scheme regulations eased
When tenders were called in 2015, only three firms had submitted bids for 75 skywalks. This sudden turnaround is the result of the civic body easing some of the scheme regulations to attract investors.
In the past, contractors who invested in a skywalk project would get to maintain it and rent out ad space for only 10 years. This has now been increased to 30 years as an incentive. The new scheme has also slashed the annual ground rent of ₹2 lakh to zero and made it part of the tender bid.
However, sources in the outdoor advertisement sector in the city said the renewed interest in skywalks is because of the civic body allowing joint ventures. “In all earlier tenders, the BBMP had put a condition that only those who had earlier worked on steel skywalks could apply. Now that norm has been relaxed and joint ventures can be undertaken by anybody in the sector,” said a senior representative of an ad agency.
Sources said that most of the 30 firms that have now evinced interest are joint ventures between outdoor advertisers and steel firms.
Economic viability
Despite the BBMP easing some of the norms, contractors are concerned about the business viability.
Manmohan Singh, secretary, Outdoor Advertising Association, Bengaluru, said that while increasing the lease period to 30 years was welcome, the loophole in the model was that the revenue returns were usually calculated for 12 months, but most skywalks do not attract ads for the better part of the year.
“On an average, the hoarding vacancy period in the city has been as high as six months over the last five years. So there is a gap in the actual revenue the investors will realise and what the civic body has based its model on,” he said.
Rent for hoarding
The rent for a skywalk hoarding in the city ranges between ₹1.5 lakh and ₹2 lakh a month, sources said.
“So from a skywalk, the investor will earn around ₹12 lakh a year and the capital cost of a skywalk ranges between ₹1.7 crore and ₹2 crore, which will take nearly two decades to be recouped. Only those with deep pockets can afford to make such investments,” said another outdoor advertiser who did not wish to be named.
17 skywalks on ORR, seven on Mysuru Road
The list of proposed skywalks seems to have got its focus right. Of the 85 skywalk projects now open for bids, 17 are on the Outer Ring Road — one of the highest traffic density corridors and a nightmare for pedestrians. The inability to balance pedestrian safety and traffic is what has led to huge traffic congestion on the corridor, experts have said.
Congested spots such as Silk Board and Nagarabhavi junctions on the ORR are a pedestrian’s nightmare. The BBMP has issued tenders for multiple integrated skywalks in these areas, which will in turn make long stretches of the ORR signal-free. Other such junctions, including Marathahalli and Graphite India will also see skywalks.
Another area of concentration has been Mysuru Road, where seven skywalks have been proposed, three of them near the Satellite Bus Stand. The proposed skywalks are at Bapujinagar, Satellite Bus Stand, Kimco junction, BHEL, Gali Anjaneya temple and Kengeri Bus Stand.
However, experts point out that some of the junctions where skywalks are urgently required and were part of earlier tenders have been ignored this time around. “For instance, skywalks are needed at Cantonment railway station, Anil Kumble Circle, and one connecting the bus stand at Majestic and the city railway station. They have been dropped this time,” said Sanjeev V. Dyamannanavar, urban commute expert.
