Mumbai: Owing to space constraints and the dire necessity for parking space in Mumbai, the BMC has undertaken the multi-level robotic parking tower (MRPT) project, which includes four parking towers across the city. The project costs Rs 504.19 crore, for which contracts have been awarded and work will start soon.

“The elevated electromechanical parking towers are the need of the hour. It comes with the latest technology and accommodates more vehicles in limited space,” a senior officer from the BMC’s traffic department said.

The four locations where the MRTs are coming up at BMC’s Engineering Hub at Worli, near Mumbadevi Temple in Kalbadevi, opposite Matunga Central railway station and Hutatma Chowk near Bombay High Court. Of the four, Worli’s site has an old building that will be demolished to construct the parking tower and the remaining three are open parking lots.

The Worli parking will be the biggest of the four, consisting of 23 floors with two basements and accommodating 640 cars and 112 two-wheelers. The contract is awarded for Rs 208.16 crore. The Mumbadevi parking will be 14-floored, accommodating 546 vehicles and the contract is awarded at Rs 122.61 crore.

As per documents accessed by the FPJ, the MRPT outside Matunga Central railway station will be 18-floored, accommodating 475 vehicles and the contract is awarded at Rs 103.88 crore. While, the mechanised parking at Hutatma Chowk (Apsara) has four underground floors, accommodating 176 cars and 18 two-wheelers and the contract is awarded at Rs 69.54 crore.

“It will take not more than three minutes for the motorist to park his vehicle in MRPT. The robot will lift the vehicle and motorists have to pay minimal charges to park,” the senior BMC official said.

He stressed that the citizen activists who are protesting against this project should realise that this project is the latest technology and infrastructure coming up in the city.

“Currently, the BMC provides parking space for 40,000 vehicles in Mumbai (28,500 in public parking lots and 11,500 on-street parking). With rising demand, Mumbai needs at least 10 times more parking space and projects like MRPT are vital,” the officer said.