Shapoorji Pallonji pips L&T to win Rs 2,600-cr project to redevelop ITPO complex at Pragati Maidan

NEW DELHI: Construction major Shapoorji Pallonji has pipped L&T to win the government’s Rs 2,600-crore project to redevelop the ITPO complex in the national capital into an exhibition-cum-convention centre, an official close to the development said.
The India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) complex at Pragati Maidan has been a venue for global events such as the India International Trade Fair, World Book Fair and Petrotech.

The Centre plans to host the flagship auto expo and other mega events like the G20 meetings once the property is redeveloped, the official cited earlier told ET, requesting not to be named. Shapoorji Pallonji will have two years to finish the job, the official said.

The redevelopment project includes the creation of a state-of-the-art convention centre with a capacity to seat 7,000 people, almost five times the capacity of Vigyan Bhawan, the government’s premier convention centre.

“Major events are drifting away from India as the present facilities are far short of international standards,” the official said. An email query sent to Shapoorji Pallonji remained unanswered till as of press time on Friday.

As per the contract, the company will also have to build meeting halls, lounges and create basement parking space for about 4,800 cars. Capacity addition for exhibition space of about 80,000 sq m along with supporting infrastructure is envisaged for later.

The project was earlier estimated to cost Rs 2,254 crore, but it rose to Rs 2,600 crore due to the roll out of the goods and services tax.

ITPO will pump in about half this amount from its reserves and fund the balance of the project through long-term loan from banks and financial institutions with government guarantee, or through soft loans, external aid and land monetisation, the official said.

Another ITPO official said crowd management is a crucial issue this year for the flagship India International Trade Fair and the organisation may cap the number of tickets sold or raise the ticket fee on a few days.

From 1.4 million visitors for the trade fair last year, ITPO plans to regulate footfalls to 1 million in the two-week-long fair this year, as the exhibition area is likely to halve to almost 52,000 sq m.

"With India’s growing global profile, New Delhi needed a modern world-class exhibition-cum- convention centre to provide an appropriate venue for international events," the official said.