THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Soon, Thiruvananthapuram city will turn smart. As part of its futuristic plans, the Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited (SCTL) will kick off its ambitious development projects including sprucing up public toilet facilities, information kiosks, drinking water kiosks, e-autos, public bike sharing facility and solar panels.
The tenders for the projects will be called soon while the Expression of Interest (EoI) will be called for e-autos and public bike sharing. The vision of the multi-crore project is to ensure that the capital becomes inclusive, safe, accessible and respects its heritage and culture.
“We have called Expression of Interest for both the projects as its implementation requires public concern. Through this, we can ensure effective areas where bike sharing can be implemented. We can also regulate the price of the e-vehicles. The vision is to merge innovative plans and latest technology for effective running of the city,” said Sanoop Gopikrishna, SMTL general manager.
SCTL has issued request for proposals (RFPs) for other four projects which have been included under urban basic services of area-based development (ABD) projects and cultural identity and heritage component.
SCTL has already invited tenders for installation of open gyms and child play equipment under smart city ABD at three main places in the city - Gandhi park, Sree Chitra Thirunal park and Sreekanteswaram park. Open gyms will be installed at a cost of Rs 40 lakh. “It has been decided that projects under smart city scheme should go into implementation mode by May 2019. The project officials are inviting EOI and RFPs to gain momentum in this regard.
As of now, the projects which are feasible has been selected and will be set for the implementation stage. The other projects are in progress,” said Sanoop.
Better public utilities, smart bus stops, efficient and diverse use of land and projects to revive the cultural heritage of the capital city are part of the Smart City proposal.
Of Rs 1,521.9 crore around 90 percent amount has been allocated to the Area Based Development (ABD) component, which will focus on the core city area, comprising the East Fort, Chala, Thampanoor and Chenkalchoola stretch.