BEST calls for tender for designer bus shelters and bus stop poles

The undertaking will call for a bus shelter and poles bid for a 10 year period

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) has proposed to call bids for the display of advertisements on its bus Q shelters and designer bus stop poles in three lots - Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs and City - in Brihan Mumbai for a 10 year period (2010-20).

The date and time of the opening of the tender is February 25 at 3 pm. The reserved display charges for the Eastern Suburb shelters and poles are Rs 23.98 crore; while that of the Western Suburbs is Rs 56.76 crore and the City is Rs 17.98 crore, making it a total of about Rs 99 crore.

BEST also expects an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 25 lakh from those participating in the bid.

Sealed tenders have been invited from agencies "having reputation in the advertisement business, subject to conditions". The participating companies should have their offices within the limits of Brihan Mumbai; they should have been in the field of advertising at least for the past five years; and have a total group turnover of Rs 30 crore or more during the last three years (April 2006-March 2009).

Mangesh Borse, director, Symbiosis Advertising, which has rights to a few BEST properties, says, "We are not participating in the tender and the sites are not prime. Also, the per month cost to BEST are crippling."

Anil Aggarwal, head, Mumbai, Pioneer Publicity (another media owner that has built and has rights to some BEST shelters), says, "Of course, such long term tenders make more sense. Regarding this tender, we haven't decided if we will participate yet." The company already has rights to129 shelters and has constructed about 85 of these already.

An industry source, who did not wish to be named, shares that this bid is a second round of sorts for certain properties that were given away in a bulk deal to an agency, which wasn't able to construct all these shelters. In the tender that was called earlier, approximately 3,500 bus shelters were given to 14 participants in all, also for a 10 year period.

Approximately 700-800 shelters are up for bid in this tender.