NEW DELHI:
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Limited has been awarded the contract for Detail design, engineering and construction works for Phase-I of the Rs 26,000 India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) in Dwarka, New Delhi.
The contract was awarded on EPC basis to L&T at a quoted amount of INR 2,791 crores – which is 2% less than the estimated cost for the development — by IICC Limited, a 100% government owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) incorporated on December 19 and tasked with developing the project.
Four of India’s leading construction agencies — L&T, Shapoorji Pallonji, Tata Projects Limited and Nagarjuna Construction Company — had submitted their bids for the prestigious project, and the final decision on the contract award was made on Tuesday.
Work on the project is expected to begin in January 2018 and be completed by December 2019. All key approvals and clearances from statutory authorities have been obtained. IICC Dwarka, a flagship project of the Government of India, was approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 10.
It was planned to address the lack of a world-class convention and exhibition centre in India, in terms of size and quality, to compete with Asian cities like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore for a larger share of the global MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Events) market which is estimated to be worth around 280 billion US dollars.
“We are extremely pleased to see this project move as fast as it has done since the Cabinet approval was granted in November. We have now completed the bidding process, finalized the Phase I contract, and incorporated the SPV to manage the project,” said Shri Alkesh Sharma, the CEO and MD of DMICDC, the knowledge partner of the project. “The construction work will hopefully proceed in a similar efficient, time-bound manner so that we have a fully functional convention centre by the end of 2019.”
Located in Sector-25, Dwarka, in close proximity to the airport, the IICC will have over 11 lakh sq.m built up space, consisting of 300,000 sq.m. of exhibition space, 60,000 sq.m. of convention area and a 50,000 sq.m Arena, with supporting development of over 640,000 sq.m of retail space, commercial office space, hospitality, and entertainment and lifestyle opportunities for end-users.
Once fully operational, the IICC is expected to infuse a demand for more than 100 major international and local. exhibition events annually. The number of persons visiting the exhibition facility annually (paying visitors) is estimated to be more than 10 million in the first phase (2019-20) and 23 million after completion of the second phase (2025).
Similarly, convention-based delegate attendance is estimated to cross 1.5 million annually after successful completion of second phase of the project and generate over five lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities.
