CMRL invites bids to license commercial spaces, parking

CHENNAI: The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has invited tenders for licensing commercial spaces and land across phase I network, opening opportunities for businesses and operators to utilise Metro-linked properties for retail, commercial and parking purposes.

According to the tender notice, CMRL has announced two contracts covering commercial properties and vacant land.

The first contract involves a tender-cum-auction for licensing built-up commercial spaces and vacant land for parking on Jawaharlal Nehru Road at Ekkaduthangal. The second focuses on the licensing of built-up commercial spaces at selected elevated and underground Metro stations in Phase-I and its extensions Metro stations.

The initiative provides prospective businesses with opportunities to establish commercial operations at locations connected to the Metro infrastructure. This will also boost non-fare revenue for CMRL. The inclusion of both elevated and underground stations means the tender covers different categories of Metro properties, while the Ekkaduthangal package separately includes vacant land intended for parking, said CMRL official.

A key feature of the procurement is that it would operate on a rolling basis. The list of properties would be updated as the process progresses and will continue until all contracts are awarded.

The rolling arrangement allows CMRL to update the availability of properties during the tender process rather than limiting the exercise to a single fixed set of spaces. CMRL has also clarified that addition, modification or deletion of spaces will be published only on the designated e-procurement website.