CHANDIGARH, MAY 3:The next time you want to go to a multiplex or a mall in Punjab, you may have to head for the local bus terminal. Considering the fact that bus terminals are usually located in prime areas, the state government has hit upon a plan to make these an attractive proposition for real estate developers.

As per the Punjab Industrial Development Board’s (PIDB) plan, bus terminals will be converted into multistoried structures, with the bus stand operating from the ground floor. The floors above will house shopping malls, offices, restaurants and multiplexes.

In the first phase, bids have been invited for development of bus terminals at Mohali, Patiala and Bathinda on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Some of the real estate firms who have applied include DLF Ltd, Gammon Infrastructure, Nagarjuna Constructions, GMR, Unitech, TDI, India Bulls Real Estate, Parsvanath and Omaxe. Bids have also come from outside firms like P D Aggarwal Infrastructure Limited (Indore), Akruti City and Oberoi (Mumbai), IDEB (Bangalore) and Bengal Silver Spring (Kolkata). The developer will be finalised by June and the construction work is expected to be completed in two years.

Talking to The Sunday Express, Dr S S Sandhu, PIDB managing director, said: “There need not be any apprehension about the co-existence of a bus stand and a shopping area. If you look at the project plan, these are big complexes. There will be separate entries for the bus terminal and the shopping area.”

Sandhu added: “It is quite usual to find such complexes in Singapore. There, the bus stand operates from the basement. Ideally, we would also want the buses to be housed in the basement, but as of now there are some issues involving ventilation and lightning. So at least in the first phase we shall not go for basement development.”

The bus terminal will be fully air-conditioned with 100 per cent power back-up, and will be run by the developer for a period of 40 years. The developer is expected to earn through rentals and the adda fees of the bus stand.

“These are prime locations. A bit of imagination and planning can create a win-win situation for the commuters, who shall have a modern, efficient bus stand, and the government, which can make big gains,” said Finance Minister Manpreet Badal.

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