New Delhi: The Tata group has won the contract to build the new Parliament building, one of the Narendra Modi government’s most ambitious projects, ThePrint has learnt.
“The Central Public Works Department opened the financial bids and Tata Projects Limited is L1, or the lowest financial bidder,” a senior housing and urban affairs ministry official, who did not want to be named, told ThePrint.
Tata Projects submitted a bid of Rs 861.90 crore, while Larsen and Toubro submitted a bid of Rs 865 crore.
An official spokesperson for Tata Projects confirmed the news. “We are delighted to contribute to accelerating India’s progress,” the spokesperson said.
With the bidding process over, the project has moved closer to getting off the drawing board. Bimal Patel, the Gujarat-based architect whose firm HCP Designs had won the bid last October to design the project, told ThePrint: “We are looking forward to the construction commencing sometime in December.”
The government has set a 2022 deadline to complete the new Parliament building, which will be triangular in shape.
Also read: New parliament building gets most necessary clearances, Modi govt now awaits SC nod
First step of Central Vista project
The budget for the ambitious project, estimated to cost Rs 922 crore, will be footed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats from their respective budget heads.
The proposed building will come up in the same premises where the current, circular Parliament building is located, and is part of the Rs 20,000 crore Central Vista redevelopment project.
The Central Vista revamp plan, which will be implemented in phases, is aimed at giving Delhi’s power corridor a complete makeover, and is estimated to cost around Rs 20,000 crore.
Apart from the new Parliament, the project will include construction of the new prime minister’s residence, and 10 new building blocks to accommodate government offices, including Shastri Bhavan, Nirman Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan and Vayu Bhavan, among others.
These buildings currently house the offices of different central ministries such as education, health, housing, agriculture, commerce, the Indian Air Force, and other departments.
ThePrint had reported on 13 April that the proposed new Parliament project has seen a 18.8 per cent cost escalation — from Rs 776 crore to Rs 922 crore — at a time the Modi government is trying to shore up its finances to contain the raging Covid-19 pandemic.
Also read: Don’t destroy heritage: 60 ex-IAS, IPS officers urge PM Modi to scrap Central Vista project