the goan I network
MARGAO
Margao Municipal Council’s ambitious Rs 5.58 crore multi-level parking project has hit yet another roadblock as it came to light that there are no takers for it.
Margao Municipal Council officials comprising municipal engineer Arsekar, accounts and administration officer Damodar Elekar and others opened the e-tender on Wednesday, only to find that there was not a single bidder for the ambitious project.
Given the situation, the MMC team has decided to issue a notice in the media extending the time for the prospective bidders to submit their bids within the next 15 days. “It is indeed a setback for the multi-level parking project since no bidder had submitted bids for execution of the project. The council will take a call on how to go about if no contractor turns up and places his bid for the project during the extended time frame,” a senior civic official told The Goan on Wednesday evening.
He pointed out that the elected council will have to take a call on the issue if no bidder turns up for the project. “The civic body had floated the tender at an estimated cost of Rs 5.58 crore excluding the GST. We are surprised that there are no bidders. Let us wait and see whether any bidder will come forward when the municipality extends the time frame by another 15 days,” the official said.
This is the second time in two years that the Margao civic body had floated the tender for the project to ease the parking problem plaguing the commercial capital, but in vain. Last time, a bidder had placed his bid for the project, but the tender was finally scrapped due to the GST tangle between the bidder and the civic body.
Foundation stone for the multi-level parking project was laid over three years ago during the tenure of former chairperson Arthur D’Silva. The project, however, was mired in endless delays, first on account of the delay in tendering the project and later by the GST tangle. The project was mooted by the civic body under the government’s golden jubilee scheme, but has failed to take off till date due to procedural issues and GST.
The project had a provision to accommodate over 100 cars, besides two-wheelers. Given its central location at the old fish market, it was expected to resolve to a great extend the parking woes plaguing the city.
In fact, though Margao city is blessed with three open spaces namely the old bus stand, pick-up stand and the old fish market, none of these have been utilised for multi-level vehicular parking.
