The much talked about redevelopment project at PragatiMaidan, which includes six exhibition halls and a grand convention centre, is slated to be completed by September next year. But sources say work may be over two months before schedule. The project is being executed by National Building Corporation Ltd (NBCC) and work has been on for four months. NBCC officials talked about a unique design to integrate the convention centre with an amphitheatre.
“The convention centre will have the capacity to host up to 7,000 visitors, and the amphitheatre can host another 3,000. The amphitheatre is situated below the first floor of the convention centre, which is at an elevated level standing on columns. With the way the amphitheatre has been integrated with the convention centre, there is enough space for over 10,000 visitors at one time,” said a top NBCC official.Work is on in full swing at the site and at least three exhibition halls would be completed by February.
“Halls A1, A2 and A3 along with partial underground parking will be finished by February, and we are hoping to finish the remainder ahead of deadline,” said a senior official.Officials said that each exhibition hall could host up to 10,000 visitors and would have all modern facilities. PWD is also working on an underground tunnel connecting IECC with Ring Road. “The entire stretch in front of PragatiMaidan will be made signal free. There are six to seven tunnels passing through so a visitor can directly come from India Gate, take the underground tunnel and directly enter the basement of PragatiMaidan. Similarly, visitors can directly enter Ring Road from the basement,” said NBCC chairman Dr Anoop K Mittal.He added, “The idea was to make a unique destination for the city where multiple events can be hosted at a single venue and every facility is afforded to visitors as per their convenience. In the earlier PragatiMaidan, the state pavilions could only host exhibitions. Now, many events can take place simultaneously. This is something very unique.”
The underground parking can accommodate up to 4,500 vehicles and is expected to be completed by August-September next year.The initial plan of having a helipad on the roof of the convention centre has been shelved, though officials said the area has a lot of green space where a helipad could be constructed in the future if needed.
A musical fountain is also planned so that IECC also becomes a pleasant place to hang out.The Purana Qila that’s near PragatiMaidan has also been adopted by NBCC under CSR. The whole area will be promoted as a tourist hub.NBCC will also maintain PragatiMaidan for five years.
