Vadodara: The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) that is eyeing to have first of its kind zonal transport hubs in the city has zeroed down on land at Nizampura and Tarsali for the project. The civic body has floated tenders for work and has even given more time to accommodate vendors who was struggling against the deadline.The VMC is eyeing to have the transport hubs for public mobility in each of the four zones of the city. The civic body has proposed to make these on a public-private partnership (PPP) mode on a Design, Build, Operate and Transfer basis. To begin with, the civic body has proposed such hubs in the north zone at Nizampura and south zone at Tarsali for city bus services.The civic body has earmarked 18,158 square meter land for the project at Nizampura and 7,219 square meter land at Tarsali. Both the plots are clear and have no encroachments or structures there. Sources said that the deadline for submitting expressions of interest for the project had earlier been set for last week, but were extended till Wednesday now.VMC executive engineer Dhiren Talpada said that the extension was granted at the insistence of those keen on taking up the project. "The calculations are complicated and they needed some more time," he said.Under the model proposed by the civic body, the developer will have rights to lease out commercial property at the hubs. The commercial development will take place besides developing the facilities for the hub itself. The developer will also have the right to collect parking fees, advertising revenue for displays in the hub and lease of the cafeteria in the hub.The developer will have to pay a premium to the civic body for the project. Sources said that so far four developers had made inquiries regarding the project and were keen on taking it up.VMC commissioner Dr Vinod Rao said the project was unique as it was for the first time that instead of auctioning land, the civic body would be leveraging it to improve public infrastructure. "We have land, but do not have expertise in such projects and are inviting it. The land will be used to provide better services," he said .

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