The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which sold advertising rights of suburban Bandra skywalk for a whopping Rs 79 crore, feels that newly inaugurated Kanjurmarg skywalk may not earn them enough ad revenue due the prevailing economic downturn
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which sold advertising rights of suburban Bandra skywalk for a whopping Rs 79 crore, feels that newly inaugurated Kanjurmarg skywalk may not earn them enough ad revenue due the prevailing economic downturn.
"We feel that the Kanjurmarg skywalk may not meet our expectations as far as advertising rights are concerned. Even as the Bandra skywalk construction was underway, there were discussions that it will earn crores for MMRDA through ads and many firms had showed willingness to grab the ad rights. But when it comes to Kanjurmarg skywalk, nobody has shown any willingness so far. This could be because of recession," said an MMRDA official.
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The agency, in collaboration with Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and other government bodies, is building 50 skywalks across the metropolis.
In a move to recover costs, it has decided to allow advertisements on the elevated walkways that help de-congest busy roads. The 214 m-long and seven-m wide Kanjurmarg skywalk, constructed at a cost of Rs 9.75 crore, was inaugurated last week.
"Tenders for the ad rights will be floated only after elections, but so far no estimates have been made as to how much revenue we could get from it," the official said.
The MMRDA had netted Rs 79 crore by selling advertising rights for the Rs 13-crore Bandra skywalk. The ad rights have been given for a period of 10 years to Adlabs, an Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group entity. The contractor will also take care of security measures like installing CCTVs and looking after cleanliness.
After the Bandra skywalk, the first in the metropolis, fetched good ad money, the expectations of the infrastructure agency had soared, but the lukewarm response for the Kanjurmarg project has poured cold water on its hopes.
Bad location?
MMRDA officials also believe that the location of the Kanjurmarg skywalk might be partly responsible for the lack of ads. "Location of the (Kanjurmarg) skywalk, along with global meltdown, might have led the firms to stay away," they added. The agency, however, feels it would still be able to recover the cost of the skywalk through ad rights, if not earn profits.
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