The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has received 87 applications for its Metro 3 station naming rights project, for which it had floated an expression of interest last month.
The most sought-after station was Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), which received 12 applications from various companies. In all, 28 organisations participated in the process, with several showing interest in multiple stations.
After BKC, Dadar and Airport Terminal 2 received the second highest applications — nine each — followed by Airport Terminal 1 and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus with seven each.
The organisations that have shown interest in the initiative include public sector undertakings like LIC and Indian Oil; banking and financial institutions like State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, UTI, Kotak, IDFC First and HSBC; airlines like IndiGo and SpiceJet, corporates like JSW, Glaxo Smith Kline, TimesGroup, Blackstone and Phoenix Mills; and real estate companies like Piramal, Oberoi and DB Realty.
The initiative is among the major focus areas for MMRC to ramp up its non-fare revenue stream before Metro 3 operations begin. Sources said the corporation aims to generate around ₹100 crore per annum through the non-fare bracket, where it also plans to have initiatives like direct access to stations and advertising rights.
“Non-fare revenue is critical for sustainable operations of any transportation network, which helps keep passenger tariffs under check. Station naming rights are a critical source contributing significantly to overall non-fare revenue. The response from various organisations to the expressions if interest has been encouraging,” Ranjit Singh Deol, managing director, MMRC, said.