THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The multi-level car parking (MLCP) facility near the Saphalyam complex in Palayam is set to be operational by the first week of February. The construction of the six-storey building will be completed by January end, said the officials of Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Limited, the executing agency of the project.
The Palayam MLCP will be one of the biggest such facilities in the state, with a capacity to accommodate 300 cars at a time. “The construction work at Palayam MLCP is nearing completion. Only a few works are pending and they will be completed within two weeks. We have redesigned the facility so that about 500 cars can be parked in the future. We will also be looking to provide space for two-wheelers in the coming years,” an SCTL official said.
Currently, MLCP facilities are available on the corporation office compound and opposite the railway station at Thampanoor. The Palayam MLCP is a fully automated structure modelled after the one on the corporation’s office premises.
Meanwhile, the tender for the proposed MLCPs at Putharikandam and Thiruvananthapuram Medical College will be finalised next week. The evaluation of the financial bid for the two projects will be completed this week while the construction of the MLCPs is likely to start next month.
Furthermore, the tender for the proposed MLCP at Vaniyamkulam is likely to be called next week. However, the tender for the facility at Chalai will take time as negotiation with some traders are going on regarding the acquisition of land. An MLCP facility is also being proposed on the premises of the Secretariat for which preliminary proceedings have begun.
Of the six new facilities, five will be fully automated, except for the one at Vaniyamkulam. Also, parking for two-wheelers will be arranged at the MLCPs in Putharikandam and Chalai.
The contract for the facility at Palayam was awarded to a company called RRTL. The proposed MLCP at Vaniyamkulam, near Aryasala, will have a facility to park trucks on the ground floor. At present, the land identified for MLCP has been allotted for truck parking. It will be a normal MLCP that will also provide provision for commercial space.
SCTL officials said the proposed MLCPs at Putharikandam, Medical College, Vaniyamkulam, and the Secretariat will have a capacity to accommodate at least 250 cars. The one at Chalai that will come up at Erumakuzhy will be a smaller one that can accommodate a maximum of 100 cars.
The SCTL is also in talks with the private landowners to take their land on lease to build the MLCP. The SCTL proposed more MLCPs as the city faces acute parking problems, especially in congested areas like East Fort, Statue, Palayam, and Medical College, as part of the Smart City Mission project.