A proposal to maintain spaces beneath flyovers can be unprofitable for companies. The contract will last for 10 years while the companies can advertise their logos in return.

With no corporate house evincing interest in beautifying and maintaining the space beneath six flyovers in the city, the Chennai Corporation has called for retender for expression of interest from companies. The first tender call had not received bidders.

According to the tender document, the flyovers at the junctions of Purasawalkam High Road – Perambur Barracks Road, Peters Road – Conron Smith Road, Peters Road – West Cott Road, T.T.K. Road – C.P. Ramasamy Iyer Road, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai – Royapettah High Road and Sardar Patel Road – L.B. Road are to be maintained for 10 years.

The companies will have to paste glass mosaic tiles and in return, will be allowed to advertise their logo utilising five per cent of the space.

In 2000, a private tyre manufacturer had pasted tiles on the space beneath the flyover near the Music Academy on Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai but there was no maintenance clause attached to it.

However, sources said that tile work alone would cost about Rs. 50 lakh and thus, the offer was not very attractive for companies.

A person who has experience in liaisoning with companies said that not many companies were willing to invest that kind of money in the hope of long-term returns. “The Corporation might view this as some kind of corporate social responsibility activity on the part of the companies. But, the latter do not seem to be interested in this,” he said.

Sridharan, an advertising expert, said: “While they get advertising opportunities at vantage locations, maintaining the space in return for merely displaying the logos is not a very lucrative offer. In Bangalore, companies are allowed to create parks and maintain them and they get good advertising space.”

The Highways Department too had tried its hand at a similar experiment with the Gemini flyover. Here too, a company was permitted to display just the logo. Sources said that the company had to spend a considerable amount in painting the facility, installing lighting and fountains but they didn’t get much in return. The company had to foot the electric bills too. But after the 3-year contract expired, neither the company nor the department had evinced any interest in extending it.

An urban planner suggested that companies could be roped in to create parks and other facilities instead of merely pasting tiles. A contest could be organised among city-based architects and the best designs could be implemented for optimum use of space, he said.

Pilot project

The Chennai Corporation will soon float tenders for beautification of space beneath the Music Academy flyover. It would be a pilot project and the footpaths in the area would be changed, crossing area raised slightly using cobblestones and the junction improved. “City Connect has provided us with the concept. We are also in consultation with the Horticulture Department for improving space below flyovers,” said Commissioner D. Karthikeyan.