Central Vista: Govt invites bids for Common Secretariat buildings

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has opened a tender for the development of three new office buildings under the Common Central Secretariat along the Rajpath at a cost of Rs 3,269 crore, and another Rs 139 crore has been kept for five years of maintenance. The three buildings will come on the plot where the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts is currently located in the second half of 2023. These buildings will accommodate the offices which are currently in Krishi Bhawan, Nirman Bhawan and Shastri Bhawan. Vacating the Shashtri Bhawan is a priority as the new convention-cum-conference hall on the lines of Vigyan Bhawan will be built there. These buildings will have to be completed in 24 months from the date of start of work. As per the bid document, the CPWD will hand over the construction site to the contractor within 22 days of the issuance of the letter to start the work. The document said the contractor might have to execute the work in three shifts with large workforce, supervisors and professional engineers. An adequate number of highly skilled artisans are also required for teak wood doors, stone masonry, carving, and furniture. The buildings will have white and red stones for cladding, teak wood, carving work, jalis, white and green marble, lakha red and black granite for flooring. As this is a mega project, the successful bidder, in collaboration with CPWD, will also have to arrange on-site skill training for at least 30% of unskilled workers. Image SourceAlso read: Central Vista: Parliament construction to continue during lockdown Also read: Construction of new Parliament building begins