Thampanoor bus terminal gets rented out

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Around three years and over half a dozen rounds of tendering processes later, over 50 percent of the commercial spaces at Thampanoor bus terminus has been rented out. The ten-level commercial-cum-office complex inaugurated in February 2014 has been deemed as a white elephant as it remained mostly unoccupied. This week, 21 more units totally worth 20,000 square feet were given away to aspirant shop owners by the KTDFC (Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation), the custodian of the building.

With this, 50 per cent of the commercial spaces has been sold out. The building has 185 units of shops and office spaces totally measuring around 1.05 lakh square feet available for rent. “Most of the successful bidders are yet to start shops here. We hope all the units will be sold out with another round of auction. Some government firms have demanded office space, but we plan to allot only one floor of the building for government offices,” said KTDFC MD Usha Devi.

Shop units will be allowed up to the fourth floor, and above that for offices. During the first round of tendering, the KTDFC had sought a caution deposit of around Rs 20 lakh per unit. With poor turnout, it allowed bidders to quote the amount, which helped in getting aspirants mostly restaurant outlets on the ground floor. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had earlier cited limited parking as the reason for less occupancy. There is parking space for only around 300 cars in the multi-level park.