Pragati Maidan redevelopment plan skids on high bids

Tender process has been cancelled; Fresh bids expected to be opened on Aug 24

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s plan for redeveloping Pragati Maidan in Delhi faces a pricing problem. The lowest bid for the project to create an international exhibition-cum-convention centre is about 40 per cent higher than the Cabinet-approved cost of Rs 2,254 crore. 

Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) put in the lowest bid for the tender that saw participation from the Tata group, Shapoorji Pallonji and international players, including from Korea, Japan and West Asia. The tender process has been cancelled and NBCC Ltd called for fresh bids last week. In all, about a dozen companies had shown interest