Ghaziabad: Agency quotes high rate, GDA will build parking lot at RDC on its own

Finding the cost estimates prepared by the central public works department (CPWD) high, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has decided to construct the mechanised multilevel parking at Raj Nagar District Centre (RDC) — a major commercial area — on its own.

The RDC, located in Ghaziabad city, houses major food and commercial establishments. The roads and other infrastructure in this area were built by the GDA. But, parking in this hub remains a problem as thousands of vehicles line up on the roadsides during peak hours.

“Now, the authority will get the parking facility constructed on its own and we are in the process of engaging a consultant to prepare the design. The cost estimated by the CPWD was nearly Rs 125 crore, but we only have a budget of Rs 20 crore, which is already approved out of the infrastructure development fund,” Ritu Maheshwari, vice-chairperson, GDA, said.

She said the present budget of Rs 20 crore can be stretched to a maximum of Rs 35 crore for establishing the multilevel facility, which will accommodate nearly 900 vehicles. The parking lot is proposed on an area of nearly 8,400 square metres and will have a basement and floors for parking.

“Initially, to reduce parking issues, we are going for better utilisation of surface parking. There is parking available with malls and there are open spaces where provisions will have to be made. For the multilevel facility, we will invite bids for its development,” Maheshwari added.

This will be the third multilevel parking in Ghaziabad to be developed by the authority. The first multilevel parking is already operational and has come up adjacent Vaishali Metro station. It can accommodate 440 cars and was built at a cost of Rs 32 crore. A small multilevel parking facility was also developed at the district headquarters and is presently operational.