Central Vista: Shapoorji Pallonji lowest bidder for Rajpath revamp

Infrastructure firm Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited has emerged as the lowest bidder for the Rajpath redevelopment project quoting Rs 477.08 crore, which is 4.99 percent less than the estimated cost, according to CPWD's bid documents.

Tata Projects quoted the second-lowest bid amount of Rs 488.78 crore for the Central Vista Avenue/Rajpath redevelopment project being executed under the government's Rs 13,500 crore Central Vista revamp project.

An official said that the historic Rajpath will go for redevelopment work soon after hosting the Republic Day parade on January 26. The work may be completed before the 2022 Republic Day parade.

The Rajpath redevelopment project includes large scale stone work, construction of underpasses, underground amenities blocks and horticulture work, the official said.

In its notice inviting tender, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is executing the Central Vista project, said that the redevelopment work of Central Vista Avenue will be executed in a phased manner so that some parts of Rajpath are available for visitors.

The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the nation's power corridor -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat, revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath, from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, new prime minister residence and PMO, and new Vice President Enclave.

When contacted, Shapoorji Pallonji Group did not comment.

Apart from Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited and Tata Projects Limited, NCC Ltd and ITD Cementation India Limited had qualified for the opening of financial bids.

ITD Cementation India Limited quoted the bid amount of Rs 490.59 crore while NCC Ltd quoted Rs 601.46 crore as the bid amount.

In September last year, Tata Project had won the tender work for the construction of the new Parliament building,

The CPWD said that once the redevelopment of Rajpath is complete, a separate supplementary agreement for comprehensive maintenance and operation of services will be drawn for a period of five years with the contractor.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court gave the green signal to the Central Vista revamp project, holding there was no infirmity in the grant of environment clearance and permissions for change of land use.

The CPWD will soon start the construction work of the new Parliament building once it gets permission from the Heritage Conservation Committee, officials said on Tuesday.