A study will soon be commissioned to explore the options available for the commercial exploitation of spaces in and around upcoming city Metro rail stations.
A few months ago, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) floated tenders in order to hire a consultancy firm to advise them about this. Once CMRL awards the tender to a consultancy firm — which may happen by the end of the month — the firm will begin the study.
“The consultancy firm may carry out the study for about five months. They will study the area around each of the metro stations and give recommendations on how they can be commercially used,” said a CMRL official.
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The firm will determine whether the area surrounding the metro stations are purely residential or commercial or a mixture of both. Based on that, they will project the revenue the contractor — to whom CMRL can rent out the space — may get. This will help CMRL in fixing rental prices, he said.
“This can be one of the ways in which CMRL can generate revenue. For this, spaces have already been allocated in the stations as the construction process is on,” the official added.
In Delhi’s metro, there are defined spaces, earmarked for property development. The city’s metro stations also have bookshops, ATMs, fast food chains and even a first-aid facility.
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Interested consultancy firms need to have at least 10 years experience in advisory services and have executed three such assignments, the official added.