BENGALURU: Public Works Department (PWD) Minister CC Patil has said that the state government is planning to call a global tender for the construction of a proposed 50-storey twin tower for government offices near Anand Rao Circle flyover in Bengaluru. He said the government is keen to call a global tender to take up the mega project as it will ensure transparency and quality.
“The terms and conditions for this will be decided after consulting the Chief Minister. At present, we are busy with the MLC and Rajya Sabha elections. We will take it up after the polls,’’ he said. The project was put on the backburner for various reasons including the Covid-19 pandemic and financial constraints.
There was also a proposal to construct one tower first and the second one after some time. However, the Cabinet approved to take up the twin-tower work under Public Private Partnership at a meeting held a few weeks ago. Minister Patil says he wants the project to be a major landmark of Bengaluru as it will come up in the heart of the city - Majestic area.
“We want to make it happen at the earliest. We can house all government department offices in one place. This will also save rent,’’ he added. When B.S. Yediyurappa was the chief minister, the cabinet had approved the ambitious project in December 2020. The cost estimation was Rs 1,250 crore. It was proposed to have 25 meeting halls and accommodate 60 per cent of state government departments, Central government departments and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) offices.
The plan was to connect the building to nearby Kempegowda Metro Station, with a pathway to Vidhana Soudha via Race Course. The National Buildings Construction Corporation was to prepare a detailed project report. A senior engineer from the PWD however told The New Indian Express that there is hardly any progress on this. “We do not know anything about the project as there are no meetings,’’ he said on condition of anonymity.