India - Soon,11 Storey parking spot in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The ordeal of searching for a parking space in the busy areas of Vashi could substantially lighten once the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s (NMMC) latest plans are completed. The NMMC is planning to have multi-level car parks at Sector 17 as well as near the Vashi Civic Hospital. Seven mechanised car parks have been planned and tenders for them were floated earlier this week. The facilities are expected to be ready in a year. Five of the multi-level lots will follow the tower system and two the puzzle system. In the tower system, a lift ferries cars to a height and parks them. In the puzzle system, which has more breadth than height, cars are fitted into various vacant slots. Sector 17 will have two 11-storey tower car parks accommodating 22 cars each and a three-level puzzle park for 43 cars. Near Vashi Civic Hospital, there will be three 11-storey towers accommodating 22 cars each and a seven-storey puzzle car park for 110 cars. A total of 263 cars will be parked this way. NMMC executive engineer Jaswant Mistry confirmed that tenders have been floated for the lots. Mistry said that when Cidco planned Navi Mumbai, it had estimated a certain volume of traffic for Vashi. “But the area is undergoing expansion and the existing space is not enough for people who come in cars. The mechanised car parks will reduce the load considerably,’’ he said. The project will cost around Rs 10.96 crore. The company constructing the lots will operate them for a year and then hand them over to a pay-and-park firm. NMMC commissioner V S Nahata said the civic body plans to replicate the project in other areas later. Mistry said the NMMC has requested Cidco to hand over the pay-and-park space outside Vashi railway station for a multi-level lot. Another lot is planned at Sector 19, near the Arneja corner. Multi-level lots are being seen as the answer to the parking space crunch. BMC chief Jairaj Phatak said Mumbai too is on the bandwagon. “We have one being constructed at Breach Candy and many more will come up,’’ he said. The NMMC is also planning a three-level basement lot beneath the garden at Sector 17. “We have appointed a consultant for the project and will apply for aid under the JNNURM soon. The garden can be used after we complete the car park,’’ said Mistry