Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is eyeing the upcoming Andheri West Metro station on Line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar) for high earnings.
Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas said, "Considering the large space available here as it will be a three-storeyed structure, we aim to use it for generating non-fare box revenue out of it. One floor of the station will be used for renting out space for the retail outlets. In fact it is the biggest station of this Metro Line."
The Andheri West station, apart from having large space, is also crucial in terms of connectivity. As it will be an interchange station with the operational station of DN Nagar on Line 1 (Ghatkopar to Versova).
Shadab Siddiqui from Auctus Advisors, the non-fare revenue consultants for Line 2A & 7, said that Andheri West station Level 1 is dedicated for retail, F&B and other uses, Level 2 is the concourse for ticketing, security check, etc, Level 3 is the platform. Approximately 13,500 sq ft of space is available at Level 1 and approximately 4,000 sqft is available at Level 2 – overall 17,500 sqft. "The Objective of the non-fare revenue monetisation is to provide passenger convenience as well as partly fund the operating costs of the metro. The market benchmarks from existing Line 1 and catchment areas of 2A & 7 indicate rentals in the range of Rs 500 to 1000+ per sq ft per month," Siddiqui explained.
At Andheri West station, the small kiosk size will be in the range of 26 sqft like ATMs, vending machines, etc up to 3,500 sq ft for a cafe, mini food court, etc. Utility provisions like electricity, water & drainage, service lifts, restrooms have been provided for convenience of the vendors and their staff, as well as vehicle drop-off zones at the ground level.
The MMRDA Commissioner Srinivas added that unlike other stations, here at Andheri West station a dedicated stop for "cycles on rent" will also be made available.
Meanwhile, a tender has already been floated for licensing of these units for which the deadline for submission is October 20, 2021. The said tender is offering 80,000 sq ft of space across all the 30 stations on the upcoming lines 2A & 7. It can make use of this space for food & beverage stalls for takeaway, cafe & mini food courts with some seating area, retail categories like convenience stores, pharmacy, electronics, apparel, accessories, etc, other categories like co-working spaces, e-commerce pickup zones, ATMs, vending machines, etc.
Apart from renting out space for retail outlets the non-fare revenue monetization efforts are also being made through cover advertising OOH rights, station naming rights, telecom rights, etc. Reportedly, the Mumbai Metro line 1 generated Rs 40 crore annually from all non-fare revenue sources pre-Covid.
