CHENNAI: The Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety has invited bids for the establishment and operation of automated vehicle testing stations at five locations across Tamil Nadu, under a public-private partnership model.

As per the request for proposal issued on January 8, the stations will be set up at Attur, Madurai, Tiruvallur, Tuticorin and Villupuram on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis. Each location will be treated as a separate project, though bidders may apply for more than one site. However, a single bidder may be awarded up to 3 locations.

The initiative aims to strengthen vehicle fitness testing and ensure compliance with safety and emissions norms amid a steady rise in the number of vehicles on the road. The automated testing stations will cater to both light and heavy motor vehicles and are expected to benefit the Transport Department, vehicle owners, and the public.

The concession period for each project will be 15 years, including one year for construction and commissioning and 14 years for operation and maintenance. The selected concessionaire will be responsible for financing, construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility and will be permitted to collect user charges and other approved revenues during the concession period. On completion of the term, the facilities will be handed over to the government free of cost.

The move follows a mandate by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to issue vehicle fitness certificates only through automated testing stations from October 1 2024.

State Transport Minister SS Sivasankar announced in the Assembly on March 29, 2024, that automated testing stations would be established in the State through a public-private partnership to issue fitness certificates for transport vehicles.

Subsequently, the Transport Commissioner proposed setting up automated testing stations under the PPP mode in the jurisdictions of several regional transport offices, including Redhills, Tambaram, Sriperumbudur, Vellore, Tindivanam, Salem West, Srirangam, Thanjavur, Tirupur North, Coimbatore North, Namakkal North, Erode East, Dindigul, Madurai South, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Uttamapalayam.

The Transport Commissioner has also requested the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited to appoint a consulting firm to act as a transaction advisory services consultant under the PPP mode for establishing 20 automated testing stations across the State.