CHENNAI: Facing a financial crunch, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) plans to rope in private firms to modernise, operate and maintain foot overbridges (FOBs) under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The move aims to improve pedestrian safety while reducing the corporation’s spending on operation and maintenance.
As a pilot initiative, the GCC has floated a tender to modernise, operate, and maintain the foot overbridge on Taluk Office Road in Anna Nagar. The project, estimated at Rs 4.66 crore, will be implemented over an eight-year concession period. The selected private firm will design, finance, upgrade, operate and maintain the foot overbridge.
“The GCC will not pay the concessionaire for executing the project. Instead, the firm will be allowed to display advertisements on the foot overbridge for eight years. The revenue generated will be shared annually between the corporation and the concessionaire.
However, the revenue-sharing percentage is yet to be finalised,” a corporation official told the TNIE. Based on the outcome of the pilot, we will consider extending the PPP model to the other three foot overbridges which are under GCC control, the official added.
According to the tender document, the project aims to provide safer pedestrian crossings on busy arterial roads and junctions and improve connectivity to transport hubs, commercial centres, educational institutions, and hospitals.
The upgraded foot overbridge will include ramps, lifts, escalators and tactile paving wherever required to improve accessibility. It will also feature energy-efficient lighting, CCTV cameras, remote monitoring systems, and other smart infrastructure to improve commuter safety and operational efficiency.
The tender also stipulates that while the concessionaire can commercially exploit approved advertising spaces on the foot overbridge, all advertisements must comply with safety, structural, and aesthetic norms and should not obstruct pedestrian movement or affect motorists’ visibility.