No takers for MahaMetro's TTMC realty project

MahaMetro plans to earn more than 50% of its revenue from non-ticket sources. The biggest source of non-ticket revenue is realty projects. However, slump in the real estate market has hit its plans hard. There are no takers for its ambitious traffic and transport management centre (TTMC) opposite Yeshwant Stadium. TTMC includes a 25-storey tower and two 19-storey ones. A source in MahaMetro said that the agency had floated a tender four months ago for developing the TTMC on public private partnership (PPP) basis. “However, no realty firm bid for the tender. We then invited several big realty firms to visit the site and explore possibilities of building the TTMC. So far several companies have come, but none has given a positive response,” he added. During the pre-bid meeting, construction companies had said that it would be difficult for them to obtain all clearances from agencies like Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC). MahaMetro therefore decided to construct the structure itself using the operator’s money.