Work on VMC’s new building comes to halt

Notice served on contractor; existing building to be remodelled as a tourist spot

The proposed VMC building where work has been halted.

Construction of the new administrative building of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has come to a grinding halt as its contractor was served notice citing administrative reasons.

VMC officials have asked Chabra Associates from Hyderabad to stop work for the 0.36 acre Gunadala building immediately.

Already, two floors of the proposed 10-storeyed building with a basement had been completed since work began in November 2016. The deadline for constructing the building was October 2017, said a senior official, on the condition of anonymity.

“The government has asked us to stop the work until further orders,” said the official. For the ₹32 crore project, ₹8.5 crore had already been spent. Of this, ₹7 crore was paid to the contractor and bills for the remaining amount remained unpaid, added the official.

The VMC had planned to construct the building on the 3.5 acre land it owned. Once the building was completed, as much as 1.69 lakh square feet office space would be created. The Corporation would use 47,000 square feet while the rest would be leased or rented out to private entities to generate revenue, said the official.

The VMC was asked to stop the construction without any written instructions from the State government, claimed another source.

The government had decided to shift the administrative building as it wanted to convert the exiting complex on the banks of the Krishna river into a tourist destination.

The government proposed to develop the 3.5-acre VMC land, portions of the Rajiv Gandhi Park and the Electricity department office complex that faced the river as a riverside spot. The stretch from the park to the Pavitra Sangamam was planned to be remodelled as the destination, said the source.