Construction of the new integrated Secretariat complex is unlikely to be completed any time soon.
The construction works of the massive complex planned with plug and play facilities for all departments commenced last November after selection of Shapoorji Pallonji Group as executing agency. Taken up with an estimated ₹616 crore after incorporating provisions for state-of-the-art facilities, the project was designed with lower ground, ground and 11 floors with a built up area of 64,989 sq.m (around seven lakh sq.ft).
The works on the complex which progressed briskly in the initial stages were hit by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic for close to three months. Works on the basement of the complex have been completed ever since and laying of slabs for the seven floors of the primary building are in progress now.
Senior officials said slabs for sixth floor on the West side, fifth floor on north and south and fourth floor on the eastern fringe had been completed till date. Brick works are also being taken up floor wise in parallel and this will be followed by service plumbing, electrical and other works. This would be followed by finishing works that will start from the top floor downwards.
“We are expecting the slab works for all floors including the four towers planned apart from the primary building by the end of the first half of the next financial year,” a senior official told The Hindu. A delegation of the government officials as well as the representatives of the construction agency visited Rajasthan for the red sandstone that would adorn the outer rim of the building.
“The quarry has been finalized and the sandstone will start arriving as and when the finishing works are taken up,” the official said. Woks on the project commenced after the government completed all the formalities and handed over the possession of the land to the construction agency. A deadline of one year was fixed for the completion of the project with a condition that the integrated complex completed in all respects should be handed over to the government in the third week of November.
