Smart City mission to rebuild a mega Central Market

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Oct 01, 2018: Karnataka State government’s  high power committee,  approved the proposal to re-construct the Central Market building at Hampankatta here into a modern market complex at an estimated cost of Rs. 145 crore under Smart City Mission, stated Mohammed Nazir, Commissioner, Mangaluru City Corporation.

 

The detailed project report (DPR) of the proposal is also ready, MCC’s  Nazir, who is also the Managing Director, Mangaluru Smart City Ltd., said.

The committee approved the proposal on September 22. With this, the decade-old proposal has moved a step forward. Now, bids would be invited to take up the project under public-private partnership mode, he said.

A sewage treatment plant, a bio-digester, a cold storage facility and roof-top solar panels are among the additional amenities mooted for the modern Central Market project.

In addition, there would be provisions for parking cars and two-wheelers. The project would have provision for shops to sell vegetables, fruits, meat and fish within in the same building. The market would come up in around 3.60 acres.

MCC’s Nazir said that the company is now evaluating bids received, for the second time, for constructing a multi-level car parking project at Hampankatta. It invited the bid for the second time as only one bidder had applied when it was called for the first time.  This  project, also to be taken up under PPP mode, would be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs. 94 crore.

He said that the proposal to build a transport hub, including a modern bus stand with commercial facilities under PPP mode, at Pumpwell, is now under technical scrutiny by Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC).

If it is cleared, it is likely to be placed before the high power committee for approval on October 23.

He said that eight bus shelters along the Nehru Maidan Road between the Clock Tower and A.B. Shetty Circle would be re-built as part of a project to give facelift to the road under the Smart City mission.

As one community leader recently said, let Mangaluru be a ’smart city’  and ’smart city with heart’.