Tata Projects Limited Wins Contract To Build New Parliament Building

Tata Projects Limited has won the contract to construct a new Parliament building at a cost of Rs 861.9 crore.

It is being built as part of the Narendra Modi government’s plan to redevelop the Central Vista in the national capital.

According to a Central Public Works Department (CPWD) official, Larsen and Toubro submitted a bid of Rs 865 crore, while Tata Projects Limited presented a bid of Rs 861.90 crore to construct the new building.

The new Parliament building will be constructed close to the existing one under the Central Vista redevelopment project, and it is expected to be completed in 21 months.

The CPWD, a prime construction agency under the Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry, said the new building will be constructed at plot number 118 of the Parliament House Estate.

The proposed new Parliament building shall be a reinforced cement concrete framed structure.

Apart from constructing the building, Tata Projects Limited’s financial bid also includes a five-year maintenance contract, according to the bid documents.

After seeking pre-qualification bids, in which seven companies applied, the CPWD, in June, narrowed the field to three potential bidders and gave them until 3pm on Wednesday (yesterday) to submit their bids.

While the Tata’s bid was 8.4 per cent less than the CPWD’s estimated cost of Rs 940 crore, Larsen and Toubro’s bid was 8.07 per cent less than the estimated cost. The third bidder, Shapoorji Pallonji did not submit its bid by the deadline, a CPWD official said.

Citing security concerns and the nature of the project, the CPWD had opted for pre-qualification of potential bidders before inviting financial and technical bids.

The project, which is a part of the ministry’s larger Central Vista redevelopment plan announced last year, is scheduled to be completed in 21 months from the start of construction.

The CPWD said the existing Parliament building will continue to function during the entire period of execution of the project.

Work on the building is likely to begin after the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament comes to an end.

The ambitious Central Vista project will cover the 3-km stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate in Lutyens' Delhi. A Gujarat-based architecture firm called HCP Designs has already won the consultancy bid to redevelop the Central Vista.

The revamp, announced in September last year, envisages a new triangular Parliament building, with seating capacity for 900 to 1,200 MPs, which is targeted to be constructed by August 2022 when the country will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day. The common central secretariat is likely to be built by 2024.