A marketing drive is on the anvil to rent out approximately 60,000 sq.ft. retail space and 50,000 sq.ft. office space in prominent Kochi metro stations, metro sources said.
The spaces were readied by Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to garner non-ticketing revenue, in order to meet the metro’s operation and maintenance expenses.
“A marketing drive has been envisaged since there were few enquiries for these spaces during the past year. The KMRL gave concessions on rent to retail outlets due to the pandemic-induced lull in business. Substantial prime commercial and retail space is on offer, especially at stations in Aluva, Kalamassery, Edappally, JLN Stadium, Kaloor and at Ernakulam Junction,” the sources said.
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Long-term lease
The metro agency has also readied additional built up space in metro stations having pillars and beams. Clients who opt for long-term lease of these spaces can construct commercial space here using their funds. A model for this will be readied this year. The revenue sharing model will be on a PPP basis.
The income from such real estate is apart from that from station naming (where the sponsor's name will prefix that of a station) and advertisements wrapped on trains. The KMRL is also banking on revenue from posters, videos and announcements within trains.
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The agency will speed up efforts to construct a ₹3,000-crore Bliss City, a modern entertainment and wellness destination in Kakkanad, to mop up additional revenue for the metro, for which a study report is awaited. “We hope to get possession of the entire 17.43 acres of land this quarter,” metro sources said.