The two malls, the first of their kind to be built by a civic body in the State, has no takers as their design does not give adequate visibility to all retail units
The two malls, the first of their kind to be built by a civic body in the State, has no takers as their design does not give adequate visibility to all retail units
Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has stepped up its marketing campaign to rent/lease commercial space spread over five lakh sq.ft. at the Vadakkekotta and SN Junction stations in Thripunithura even as there is reportedly lukewarm response to avail space on rent at two shopping malls that were built by the Thripunithura Municipality in the town.
The T.K. Ramakrishnan Mall and A.G. Raghava Menon Mall, which together cost approximately ₹20 crore, are said to be the first of their kind to be built by a municipal body in the State. Their opening was delayed by over two years due to delay on the part of the government in sanctioning bylaws to tender them and slack response from traders, it is learnt.
Expressing scepticism of there being takers for the two malls built by the municipality, an office-bearer of the Thripunithura Merchants’ Union said their design did not give adequate visibility to all retail units. “Traders will thus need much persuasion to try their luck by investing here. As per project specifications, the entire space ought to be taken over by a firm. It ought to have the capacity to pay around ₹50 lakh as monthly rent for each malls, after subletting to retailers and others. It would have been much better if individual shops were built with each shop being visible to customers,” he added.
The municipality ought to have learnt a lesson from the shopping complexes at the private bus stand and near Statue Junction, which enjoy little patronage from customers. Similarly, KMRL will have to look up to big players in the retail arena to rent or lease out its massive commercial space at the two metro stations in Thripunithura and the upcoming terminal station, he said.
The T.K. Ramakrishnan Municipal Mall in Thripunithura, which was built using government funds, has low customer patronage.
| Photo Credit: H. VIBHU
Bus stand
V.P. Prasad, chairman of Thripunithura Rajanagari Union of Residents Association (TRURA), spoke of how the approximately ₹20 crore spent on the two malls could have been invested in purchasing four acres for an integrated municipal bus stand near the Thripunithura railway station and the upcoming metro station. “The hurry to build malls, commercial complexes in the town, and the vast commercial space at metro stations is wastage of public funds which could have been used alternatively,” he said.
Sources in the Thripunithura Municipality said they hoped the two malls would be availed on rent when tenders are invited yet again, while KMRL sources said they were banking hope on the month-long auction of commercial spaces at metro stations that would resume on November 15.
