The government has started the bidding process for construction of the Executive Enclave in the Central Vista zone in Lutyens’ Delhi, which will have a new Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), cabinet secretariat, India House and National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) at an estimated cost of Rs 1,171 crore.

While the PMO, cabinet secretariat and NSCS will be four-storey buildings each with basements, the India House will be two-storey with a basement.

According to sources, all the buildings proposed in the Central Vista zone are in consonance with the principle of Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone (LBZ), which is not to go beyond the fully grown tree height.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) under the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has invited bids for pre-qualification for the tender.

The construction will be completed in 24 months from the date of award of work, which means by the end of 2023 or early 2024. The total covered area of the proposed building is approximately 87,915 square metres including the basement area of approximately 20,879 sq/m.

Going by the tender document, the height of the PMO, cabinet secretariat and NSCS would be approximately 19 metres. The 9.5 metres tall India House will be used as a conference facility to host foreign dignitaries and for official engagements on the lines of Hyderabad House.

These buildings will come up on the plot near South Block where defence hutments are currently located. The government has started the process of shifting the employees and offices from the huts to the two new buildings that have come up in Africa Avenue.

Once this area is completely vacated, the new Prime Minister’s Residence (PMR) will also come up. While obtaining the environmental clearance, the CPWD had clubbed all these projects as one component on 15 acres.