2 years on, tender of convention centre yet to be issued in Faridabad

Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service
Faridabad, July 12

With the foundation stone laid two years ago, the tender of Haryana’s first international-level convention centre is yet to be issued. The ambitious project is worth Rs378 crore.

Spread over 8.2 acres in Sector 78 here, its foundation stone was laid on August 28, 2019 by the Haryana Chief Minister, but no work has been started on the ground as the authorities concerned are yet to issue the tender documents of the project, which is claimed to be the largest convention centre of Northern India.

Delay in preparing design, layout

• According to officials, the delay has been mainly due to the time consumed in the preparation of the design and layout of the building and the proposal to build a five- star hotel inside the complex.
• An official said the delay of several months in the release of the payment to the architectural firm, which designed the project, also hampered the progress. The payment was cleared in May this year, it is reported.

The centre is to be built by the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) and is proposed to be larger and spacious than Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. With plenary halls to accommodate an audience of over 4,000 persons at a time, it is expected to be the leading spot to facilitate the holding of large round table conferences, seminars, corporate meetings, industrial exhibitions and events of national and international level. The project can be a good source of revenue generation and can be rented out for such functions, but the delay has extended the deadline, which is claimed to be three years after the launch of the work.

Stone laid by CM in 2019

• Spread over 8.2 acres in Sector 78, Faridabad, its foundation stone was laid on August 28, 2019 by the Haryana CM
• The centre is to be built by the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran and is proposed to be larger and spacious than Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

According to officials concerned, the delay had been mainly due to the time consumed in the preparation of the design and layout of the building and the proposal to build a five-star hotel inside the complex for the stay and lodging of guests or participants. “Besides the wrangles associated with the formal approval, the ongoing Covid pandemic and the lockdown conditions also proved a bottleneck in the launch of the work,” said an official. He further said the delay of several months in the release of the payment to the architectural firm, which designed the project, also hampered the progress. The payment was cleared in May this year after a gap of one year, it is reported.

“With the drawings finalised and technical hurdles resolved, the release of the global e- tender of the project is expected next month,’’ said Rajiv Sharma, Superintending Engineer, HSVP, here.