The Hindu Business Line : Simpark hi-tech underground car parking system for Kolkata

In the limelight
Kolkata's first underground automated car parking system was now acting as a showpiece attracting municipal corporations from around the country.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has already signed an agreement with Simpark for such projects at more than one station.

Hi-tech bay: Cars at the underground parking lot built by Simpark Infrastructure at the New Market complex in Kolkata. The facility will be opened to the public on April 20.

Kolkata April 15 Simpark Infrastructure (P) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Simplex Projects Ltd, braving several odds has just completed an underground modern automated car parking system at one of the most congested areas of the city - the New Market complex, a relic of the Raj to which all Kolkatans are emotionally attached.

A trip to the Market for pre-Christmas shopping is a must for both young and old.

The engineering marvel 30 ft below the ground has been achieved without disturbing the red brick-stoned heritage New Market structure facing the southern façade, including the fabulous clock tower to the left.

Initially planned as a multi-level car park above ground, the BOT project, facing stiff resistance from the market shop establishments, was shifted below with a shopping mall at the minus one level and the actual gantry system car parking at the minus two level. Sheet piling over a period of 18 months was done to safeguard the old buildings facing the market complex.

Top down construction method has been adopted (no cannibalisation of the top surface), and the gantry system can be accessed through five entry points (gates) for cars to be placed on pallets, which will take them down to the designated parking slot. Fully computerised, there will be just one person each at the entry point to operate the system, and car recovery is said to take just 90 seconds.

Showpiece

Cited as Kolkata's first underground automated car parking system, the project, commissioned by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), according to Mr B.K. Mundhra, Chairman and Managing Director of Simplex Projects, was now acting as a showpiece attracting municipal corporations from around the country. He said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has already signed an agreement with Simpark for such projects at more than one stations.

Talking to Business Line on the various challenges faced during the four-year construction period of the Rs 34-crore BOT project (with a 20-year concession period) by the Simpark engineering team, Mr Mundhra said the company has been able to just about break-even.

"The gain for us is the immense satisfaction of having completed such a difficult project in a small stretch (just 40,000 sq ft), capable of accommodating some 280 cars."

He said the KMC would get 5 per cent of the parking fees, which is projected to be around Rs 2.5 lakh annually. The main earning for KMC will be through secondary basic rent from shop owners in the plaza.

This is expected to yield annually around Rs 10 lakh for KMC while providing hassle-free parking for Kolkatans. Some 150 shop owners are said to have booked space at the plaza.

Asked on Simpark's future plans, Mr Mundhra said the company was planning to enter the semi-automatic private "retail parking" segment with the "Intelligent Cubicle Sliding" system, for which it has entered into a strategic tie-up with a Korean company.

He said orders for prototypes of the compact system, which can be installed easily at building sites to fulfil private parking needs, have already been placed.

A base level model, for holding some 8-10 cars, may cost anything between Rs 1.75 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh.

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