Delhi’s CP to add another sprawling commercial space, courtesy NBCC

By Rituraj Baruah

New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS) The busy commercial heart of the national capital -- Connaught Place -- is likely to have another sprawling building, with the public sector major NBCC preparing the design and Detailed Project Report (DPR) for redevelopment of the cash-strapped Air India's 3.54 acre plot in the area.

Speaking to IANS here, NBCC CMD Anoop Kumar Mittal said that the company is currently working on the design for redevelopment of the two Air India properties in New Delhi -- Air India's staff colony in Vasant Vihar and a plot at Baba Kharag Singh Marg, Connaught Place.

He said that general timeframe for redevelopment projects is around five years and the same is expected in the case of these two projects.

"There are two projects for Air India, one is at Vasant Vihar and one at Baba Kharag Singh Marg. It will take be around 4-5 years. We have started on design and DPR," Mittal told IANS.

In September, the national carrier gave an in-principle approval to NBCC for monetising or redeveloping the two non-core assets in the city and both properties are together valued at around Rs 6,500 crore.

The plot at Baba Kharag Singh Marg is spread across 3.54 acres while that in Vasant Vihar, which houses Air India's staff colony, spreads across 30 acres.

NBCC is currently also working on redevelopment projects in East Kidwai Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar in the city.

The commercial space at Connaught Place comes as a major development to the area, which got a facelift during the Commonwealth Games 2010.

Connaught Place has been the most expensive office area in the country for the past few years and has also been among the top 10 corporate areas globally.

(Rituraj Baruah can be contacted at rituraj.b@ians.in)