Road department to earn Rs 50 lakh from ad space sales

Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation plans to sell ad space near JVLRâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088flyover

In a bid to generate revenue, the cash-strapped Maha­rashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has decided to sell advertising space on flyovers under its jurisdiction.

According to sources in the Road Department, ad spaces near flyovers in the city as well as in Thane will be sold and the MSRDC expects to earn Rs 50 lakh from it.

According to an official, MSRDC will sell ad space for four hoardings on Nitin Casting-Cadbury Junction flyover and three hoardings on Golden Dyes Junction Flyover in Thane for a period of three years. "We expect to earn nearly R13.5 lakh from these two sites," he said.

Apart from this, MSRDC will also sell ad space on Kalanagar flyover, JVLR flyover, Aarey flyover, Mahim interchange flyover and the Dahisar toll plaza on Western Express Highway. It may fetch the road department R33 lakh, according to sources.

Aarey flyover

An MSRDC official said, "We want to generate as much revenue as possible. We have invited tenders for selling the advertising space on the flyovers that come under our jurisdiction. We are expecting a good response from the bidders."

The MSRDC has been struggling to complete its projects due to paucity of funds, because of which, several important projects - including the MTHL project connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva - have been handed over to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

Even the water transport project was handed over to Maharashtra Maritime Board by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in 2015.