Pragati Maidan all set to get Rs 2,254 crore makeover

New Delhi: An iconic destination for hoisting annual trade fair and exhibitions in the national capital since 1972, Pragati Maidan is finally all set to get a Rs 2,254 crore makeover in line with the new norms and standards set up for convening international conventions across the world. The entire 115-acre exhibition ground would be redeveloped as a world class Integrated Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC). The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the proposal of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), a Mini Ratna Category-1 company under the department of commerce, for redevelopment of Pragati Maidan.

Sources said that in all possibility, the G-20 summit in 2020 will be held in the redeveloped Pragati Maidan. It was only after the Berlin festival that international norms were set up for convention centres to hold global meets across the world. Initially, there were plans to declare Pragati Maidan’s Hall No. 1 as a heritage building. But the plan was dropped after the intervention of the apex court.

In the next few months, the ITPO is going to raze many buildings in the exhibition ground to make way for new structures such as a convention hall that will be five times larger than the Vigyan Bhawan, underground parking, new access roads, and exhibition halls. Present facilities at the exhibition ground are far too short of the international standards.

The ITPO will utilise Rs 1,200 crore out of its free reserves towards funding of the project. It will raise institutional loan/soft loan for the balance amount of Rs 1,054 crore with government’s guarantee for the amount of institutional loan. The redevelopment of Pragati Maidan is envisaged in two phases. Phase 1 of the reconstruction, scheduled to be through by May 2019, will result in the redevelopment of nearly 3.26 lakh sq. mtrs of the exhibition ground. After redevelopment of Phase 1, the exhibition space will be doubled to 1.19 lakh sq.mtr as against the current space of 65,000 sq. mtrs. Redevelopment will also include creation of a state-of-the-art convention centre with a seating capacity of 7,000 people.

As part of the Pragati Maidan redevelopment plan, two access routes — one from Ring Road and another from Mathura Road — will be constructed, which will lead motorists directly to an underground parking lot. “The redevelopment plan was conceptualised in 2006, but work on it will finally begin this year. Lack of space doesn’t allow us to host international fairs. After the redevelopment, Pragati Maidan will become a dream destination for global events,” a senior officer said.

“The improvement in access to Pragati Maidan was not part of the original plan, though it was felt that once the exhibition ground gets a facelift and traffic to the area is increased, it would help to have two exclusive routes to the venue without disturbing traffic on the main roads,” the officer added.

For execution of this mega project, ITPO has awarded the work to the National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) as a project management consultant. ITPO would call for global bidding for selection of project executor for construction of the project.

Sources said that the vendor, who will be given the tender to revamp Pragati Maidan, will also construct these routes. “These may be elevated routes or underpasses. One route will start at the Ring Road, near the railway line behind Pragati Maidan and will lead directly to the underground parking. There will be another route from Mathura Road that will also lead to the parking lot,” a source said.

As per plan, two parking facilities would be created — one underground and another surface parking. “The underground one can accommodate 4,800 cars while the surface parking will be for VIP cars. The cost of the project will be Rs 78 crore. Permissions will be taken from the road owning agency, wherever necessary,” added the source.

A multi-grade separator will also come up at the Mathura Road and Bhairon Road intersection at a cost of Rs 75 crore. This is one area where approval needs to be taken from the Delhi government and hence is not being linked to the main project, said a senior bureaucrat. An access will be built from here to the parking lot at a cost of Rs 26 crore and a direct connection between Ring Road and the basement parking for Rs 52 crore.

Another officer said, “There is no provision for parking at Pragati Maidan due to which traffic jams become unavoidable when a big event is held here. Once these routes are created, the traffic heading for Pragati Maidan will bypass Mathura Road and there will be no vehicles parked on the main road creating a hindrance.”