The daily revenue-expenditure gap of Kochi metro is down from around ₹20 lakh per day in December 2017 to ₹13 lakh due to the increase in non-ticketing revenue.
A good share of non-ticketing revenue comes from around 50,000-square feet space in 16 metro stations in the 18-km Aluva-Maharaja’s College Ground corridor that has been rented out to shops and commercial establishments, banks, government agencies and NGOs, said A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, KMRL managing director.
The stations, located along arterial roads in the city and Greater Kochi area, have commercial space totalling approximately 1 lakh square feet, where anything from small kiosks to big offices can be set up. The biggest of them is at the station in front of Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor, where 40,000-square feet commercial space is up for grabs.
Property show
Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) had hosted a property show here in May, to hard-sell the commercial space within metro stations. It had set ₹35 and ₹180 per square feet per month as the lowest and highest base rent rate for the commercial space, depending on location and visibility. “The rent for commercial space in stations like the one at Edappally, which witnesses very high passenger footfall, is well over ₹180 per square feet. The opening of a skywalk linking the metro station with Lulu Mall has further increased the demand for retail and other space at the station,” Mr. Hanish said. The maximum demand is for such spaces at metro stations at Aluva, Kalamassery, Edappally, Kaloor international stadium, and M.G. Road, he added.
The metro agency conceived these spaces with two aspects in mind. Opening of shops and others amenities in metro stations would slowly increase the metro’s commuter patronage, since commuters will not have to venture out of stations to purchase commodities. More floors can be added to the stations to hew out further commercial space if need arises.
Tax issues
Responding to demand from a couple of municipal bodies that KMRL pay building tax each year based on the extent of commercial space attached to stations, Mr. Hanish said that no formal demand has been made. “In the case of Delhi Metro, the Delhi High Court had ruled that this tax cannot be levied on a metro agency. The issue will be taken up with the State government, if need arises.”
The Kochi metro’s income from non-ticketing sources is set to exceed that from ticket sale, once one lakh square feet commercial space in the 16 metro stations is rented out. The other sources of non-ticketing revenue are ‘station-naming rights’ in which firms that win the bid can have their names as suffix of station locations, and station inter-connection rights, in which shopping malls and high-rises can build direct access to metro stations.
Other income sources include sale of advertisement space on metro pillars, interior and exterior of trains. It has sought NHAI’s permission to install ads atop metro pillars in the Edappally-Aluva NH corridor. KMRL is also banking on sale proceeds from ‘affordable apartments’ and allied amenities at an integrated Metro Township that it has envisaged on 17 acres in Kakkanad.
