New Central Secretariat construction likely to begin this month

As part of the Central Vista redevelopment, the CPWD has proposed construction of 10 Secretariat buildings to house all Central Ministries. (Source: PTI)

The construction of the first three office buildings of the new Common Central Secretariat (CCS) along Rajpath is likely to begin in November, according to Central Public Works Department (CPWD) sources.

On October 27, the CPWD awarded the construction and five-year maintenance contract to Larsen and Toubro Ltd. for ₹3,141.99 crore. This was the largest-ever contract in the CPWD history, said senior officials.

L&T was mobilising its resources and work was likely to start this month, a senior official stated. The project had a targeted timeline of 24 months for completion. The buildings are proposed to be constructed on the plot of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) campus, which has been shifted to the former Janpath Hotel temporarily. The new IGNCA campus would be built at Jamnagar House.

Bhawans’ demolition

As a part of the Central Vista redevelopment, the Centre has proposed a CCS of nine office buildings and a conference centre on Rajpath to accommodate all Ministries. The existing structures on the plots, including the IGNCA, Shastri Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan, Udyog Bhawan and the Krishi Bhawan, are proposed to be demolished to make way for the new buildings, according to the plan drawn up by the Centre’s consultant, HCP Design, Planning and Management.

While inviting bids for the three buildings of the CCS, the CPWD had estimated the cost to be ₹3,254 crore. The tender document said the total built-up area of a building would be 4.46 lakh square metres spread over two basements, a ground floor, an upper ground floor and six storeys.

The three buildings would be constructed on the same plot, with connected basements and common boundary wall. The tender document stated that each building would be split into cores and wings. The wings would be the primary components where workplaces would be located, while the cores would have shared amenities and utilities.

When it starts, the CCS project would be the third component of the larger Central Vista revamp to be under construction, after the new Parliament building and the redevelopment of the Central Vista Avenue.