
KOCHI: The demolition of the over five-decade-old building that still houses the Ernakulam KSRTC bus station will get under way soon, and a new terminal, to be modelled after the Vyttila Mobility Hub, will be set up on 2.9 acres of land at Karikkamuri.
However, no ownership of land will be exchanged with the Vyttila Mobility Hub as decided earlier.
This was decided at a high-level meeting led by Industries Minister P Rajeeve and Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar in Thiruvananthapuram.
“The order directing demolition of the old building will be issued next week. The tender process will be completed on a war footing and the demolition will begin thereafter,” said P Rajeeve, who is the minister in charge of the district.
However, it was decided that the ownership of land at Karikkamuri and Vyttila won’t be exchanged.
Earlier, it was agreed that the right of possession of the proposed land at Karikkamuri, owned by KSRTC, would be given to the Vyttila Mobility Hub, and in exchange the corporation would get certain land at the Vyttila Hub.
“The change will be incorporated in the Memorandum of Understanding as well,” he said.
A new swanky bus terminal will be set up in the adjacent Karikkamuri on the model of the Vyttila Mobility Hub. For this, 2.9 acres of land there will be handed over to the KSRTC.
The KSRTC will be exclusively given the rights over six bays in the new terminal, which will also have facilities like Station Master’s Office and the facilities for employees. The KSRTC will be exempted from paying the user fee.
All revenue modes will be explored to generate income from the new terminal. The new building will have a waiting area, various kiosks for medical shops and refreshment stalls, a drop-off area for passengers, separate entry and exit points for private vehicles, and proper drainage facilities, besides other facilities for passengers. At Vyttila hub, the KSRTC will be given the right of operation and also the facilities for the Station Master office.
The new terminal can be accessed by both private and KSRTC buses. The Kerala State Construction Corporation has been entrusted with the construction of the new terminal, for which the Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) has set aside a sum of Rs 12 crore.
“With the construction of the new bus terminal, the city will have two separate hubs for private and KSRTC buses. The KSRTC Mobility Hub at Karikkamuri will benefit passengers by providing them easy connections to the Ernakulam South railway and metro stations,” the minister added.
Besides the ministers, Ernakulam MLA T J Vinod, Transport Secretary K Vasuki, Transport Commissioner C H Nagaraju, Additional Transport Commissioner P S Pramoj Shankar, District Collector NSK Umesh, District Development Commissioner Aswathy Nair and Smart City Mission CEO Shaji V Nair attended the meeting.