Central Vista projects pick up pace, Ahluwalia Contracts lowest bidder to build new PMO

Redevelopment of the Central Vista project has taken pace with the government opening a bid to construct an Executive Enclave, which will include constructing a new prime minister's office (PMO).

The Executive Enclave, which also has a new cabinet secretariat, India House and the National Security Council Secretariat, will be built at a cost of Rs 1,119 crore. Delhi-based Ahluwalia Contracts India Limited emerged as the lowest bidder when the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) opened a financial bid on Tuesday.

The Executive Enclave will come up on the plots at the south side of the South Block in the Lutyens' Delhi. The plots are presently occupied by Defence establishment hutments that have been already relocated to other buildings.

The new PMO will have three floors, each 4.75 metres high, in addition to the basement and ground floor. At present PMO is housed at South Block.

The new cabinet secretariat and the National Security Council Secretariat will have a similar structure. India House, which will have one floor in addition to the basement and ground floor, is likely to be used as a conference facility like the Hyderabad House where high-level talks, especially with top visiting leaders of various countries, are held now.

According to the CPWD, which is the implementing agency, the entire Executive Enclave will be completed within 24 months of initiation of the construction work.

The redevelopment of the Central Vista, the nation's power corridor, envisages a new parliament building, a common central secretariat by demolishing around 12 existing buildings, revamping of the 3-km Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, new office and residence of the prime minister, and a new vice-president enclave. Prime MInister Narendra Modi, who kickstarted redevelopment of Central Vista by laying foundation stone to build a new Parliament in December 2020, has plans to complete the entire project by 2026 with the expenditure of Rs 23,000 crore.

Redevelopment project of the Central Vista Avenue will be over in two months, while the new Parliament building is expected to complete in October this year. The government already awarded the contract for the construction of the first three buildings of the Common Central Secretariat and new vice president's enclave.

Opposition parties have criticised the project saying that the money spent for this should be utilised to create healthcare facilities in the country. However, the government defended it saying that most of the existing buildings in the central secretariat are in dilapidated condition.

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