dna special: Bandra Kurla Complex to be turned into smart business hub

Plans are afoot to turn the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and adjacent Wadala area into a Smart City, with automated security and parking facilities as well as wi-fi services.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which manages the BKC, has commissioned a feasibility study for this which will be undertaken by Accenture, a multinational management consulting and technology services company.

"The feasibility report is expected to be ready in a month. Depending on the recommendations and explanations in the report, steps will be taken to first make the Bandra Kurla Complex a futuristic destination," said a senior official of MMRDA.

The proposal is to set up smart parking facilities and upgrade the security system with the use of technology.

Pver and above this, it is proposed to introduce wi-fi services for visitors to the business district and right inside office spaces. It would have to be decided whether there will be a charge for the service.

"We are working on several aspects, like whether to customise wi-fi services, or have the service over the entire 160 hectares of the business district, or to limit it to pockets as a pilot project for six months," the official explained. If it is successful, it could be replicated to other locations in the city.

In 2008, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had planned to introduce wi-fi facilities across the city, but the proposal was scrapped on account of the possible security risk.

In 2011, MMRDA floated a plan to install wi-fi equipment on flyovers, foot overbridges and skywalks, but this never got going.