The State government has decided to construct mechanised multi level car parks at a parking lot near Additional Secretariat and Polo Commercial Complex in the city at a total cost of Rs 43 crore under the Shillong Smart City Limited.
The mechanised multi level car park near Additional Secretariat will be built at a cost of Rs 6.5 crore while that at the Polo Commercial Complex will be built at a cost of Rs 36.5 crore.
Already, the Urban Affairs Department has floated tenders inviting experienced firms to construct the two mechanised multi level car parks on Design, Build, Operate, Maintain and Transfer (DBOMT) system.
The objective of the two car park projects is to reduce the impact of the car on the townscape by restricting on-street parking and to encourage pedestrian friendly roads by provision of dedicated multi-level car parking facilities and also to satisfy the increase in demand in car parking space of Shillong city.
The proposed mechanised fully automatic multi level car park near Additional Secretariat will have 58 car parking spaces while the one at Polo will have 347 car parking spaces along with 50 two-wheeler at-grade parking. Parking spaces at all floors will be suitable for SUVs and Sedan cars up to the weight of 2300 kg.
The existing parking lot near Additional Secretariat including the existing public toilet has a site area of 632 square metres. The proposed parking site at Polo Commercial Complex has a total area of 1868 square metres.
The two proposed car parks will have a rainwater harvesting system, toilet, compound wall, gates, internal roads, street lighting, LED signage and landscaping etc besides CCTV system, control rooms, pump room, fire fighting system, ticket counters etc.
With a view to reduce cash handling and provide further options for payment, a cashless parking payment mechanism will be implemented. It allows users to pay to park their vehicle using a mobile phone (pay-by phone mobile app), bank card through a smart parking card instead of using physical currency in a parking lot.
“Cashless parking provides a different way to pay for parking, especially if you don’t have any change or you want to extend your parking session without having to return to your vehicle,” officials said.
The system offers a wide range of benefits to customers, including choice of payment method, reminders that their parking session is due to end and the flexibility to extend their parking session using their mobile phone, thereby eliminating the need to over-book initially.
The contractor selected to build and run the two car parks shall be required to pay an annual guaranteed license fee to Shillong Smart City Limited in the first year which will be raised by 10 per cent every year during the Operations and Maintenance period.
For the car park near Additional Secretariat, the contractor will have to pay an annual guaranteed license fee of Rs 3.50 lakh.
For the car park near Additional Secretariat, the contractor will have to pay an annual guaranteed license fee of Rs 21.50 lakh.