Extensive plans for the redevelopment of the 45-year-old Pragati Maidan were laid down today by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and NBCC (India) Limited.
In a joint press conference held in New Delhi, L. C. Goyal, CMD of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and Dr. Anoop Kumar Mittal, CMD of NBCC (India) Limited laid down the road map of a Rs. 2,500 Crore plan to redevelop Pragati Maidan into a "world class state of the art Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre(IECC)."
Once renovated, IECC will be a landmark spot in New Delhi and an emblem of the Prime Minister's vision of 'New India', the CMDs announced.
The IECC is set to be developed with state of the art architectural designs alongside a massive basement parking for over 4500 vehicles and will include comprehensive traffic decongestion interventions. The IECC will be a 32.4-meter tall landmark which will stand at par with internationally renowned buildings. The building will be constructed on an elevated podium with a unique sloping facade which will have elements of the pristine and beautiful architectural heritage of Delhi.
It will be capable of hosting 3000 people in the plenary hall and 4000 people in the Multi-function hall, thus adding up to a massive 7000 people in a single format. The IECC will have altogether 30 meeting rooms and will comprise of 7 new modern Exhibition halls with an integrated F&B facility. The complex will be easily accessible as it will be connected to the Pragati Maidan Metro Station.
Shri Goyal and Dr Mittal have also stated that all required approvals like concept design and layout plan by National Monuments Authority(NMA), Delhi Urban Art Commission(DUAC) and South Delhi Municipal corporation have been taken. The building plans have also been cleared by Fire Services Department of Govt. of Delhi. ITPO CMD also informed BWBusinessworld that the only pending approval, that is the environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) will be obtained in the first week of June.
Giving us a detailed timeline, they said that vendors for traffic interventions and IECC project would be in place by the end of June 2017. The construction is set to start by July 2017. The Convention Centre is projected to be completed by November or December 2018 and the entire project should come to life by July or August in 2019.
When BW Businessworld asked NBCC CMD of the transparency and steps taken to counter any possibility of corruption, Mittal replied, "we have allotted E-tendering system, which is a very transparent process. We have also employed a 3 tier monitoring system, which will monitor the costs and expenditure of the entire project."
When asked about the location of the next World Trade Fair, ITPO CMD clarified that it will still continue to be held on the grounds of Pragati Maidan, although only half the land would be used for the Trade fair. The other half will remain under renovation.
Apart from the Pragati Maidan Redevelopment project, NBCC has also taken over an 18-year-old irrigation project from the Maharashtra government. "The first phase worth Rs. 1200 Crore of this project is already underway", the CMD of NBCC, Dr Mittal said. "The entire project will be Rs. 7,000 Crore in total", he added.
