The three co-working spaces in New Town, that had stopped operations earlier this year, are set to reopen by the end of this month, a senior Hidco official said.

Hidco had built these working pods, small two-storey structures, in three places — near Nazrul Tirtha, near Eco Park’s and near the Biswa Bangla Gate.

Called the Happy Works Working Pods, these co-working spaces can seat 20 at one time and have in-built high-speed WiFi networks and charging stations.

These pods were conceptualised in 2020 when the pandemic forced many to work from their homes.

The first became functional in August 2021.

The other two were completed and opened by December 2021.

“Initially we had decided to set up these cocoons at a meeting that focussed on making life easier during the pandemic. Many residents across the city live in apartments and they don’t have a dedicated study or work space,” a senior Hidco official said.

These pods and they had become quite popular.

The official said that they have already floated a tender to select a vendor to run these working pods.

“The bidder has to pay a monthly rent to us for each pod,” said the official.

Those who want to work in the pods can simply walk-in anytime from 8am to 9pm and pay the hourly charge after which they can plug in their laptop, connect to the Wi-Fi and start working.

Each two-storey pod also offers a nine-seater conference table and a reading corner where newspapers, magazines and books will be kept.

Rent per seat at the pods for the first 90 minutes is Rs 30 and henceforth Rs 20 per hour but monthly arrangements can also be worked out. The conference room is available at Rs 200 an hour.

Food and snacks, photocopy and printing are chargeable, said an official.