₹58cr tender floated for Delhi Zoo entrance revamp

New DelhiThe Union environment ministry has floated a tender to select an agency for the planning, designing and modernising the entrance plaza of the Delhi Zoo at a cost of ₹58 crore—as part of a larger ₹400-crore zoo revamp plan—for building new access roads, surface parking, entry gates and an outdoor cafeteria

New Delhi

The plan involved building new access roads, surface parking, entry gates and an outdoor cafeteria. (HT Archive)

The Union environment ministry has floated a tender to select an agency for the planning, designing and modernising the entrance plaza of the Delhi Zoo at a cost of ₹58 crore—as part of a larger ₹400-crore zoo revamp plan—for building new access roads, surface parking, entry gates and an outdoor cafeteria.

Officials said that an agency has been selected for work on the interior components of the zoo, to add glass enclosures, a new central plaza, water bodies, a second entry gate from the Bhairon Mandir side, a new interpretation centre and landscaped terrains to improve visitor experience, besides making animal enclosures feel closer to their natural habitats.

While the tender for the design and construction of the entrance plaza was floated on August 20, a pre-bid meeting was held on Monday. “No intending bidder came to attend the pre-bid meeting. Also no queries were received from any intending bidders as per NIT (notice inviting tender)provision through e-mail. All terms and conditions of the NIT shall remain unchanged,” the minutes of the pre-bid meeting, accessed by HT, state.

Delhi Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar confirmed work is likely to commence once the designs for both the exterior and interior portions of the zoo are finalised. The tender, floated for the entrance plaza revamp, sets a timeline of 15 months for the completion of work.

“The tender for selecting an agency for the entrance plaza, which will have a dedicated vehicle drop off zone, new surface parking, a foot overbridge, a visitor centre and a new cafeteria, has been floated by the Civil Construction Unit (CCU) of the ministry. While we have a conceptual design at this stage, the final design will be developed by the agency selected,” Kumar told HT, adding it is likely to take around three months to finalise the design.

“Other components outside include new ticket entry gates and landscaping,” Kumar added.

The director confirmed an agency has already been selected for work on the zoo interiors.

“This was done last week. The agency will design other zoo components like enclosures, including fresh construction and retrofitting, wherever needed, a new modern hospital, new incinerators, a postmortem house, new feed sections, a central plaza, a modern interpretation centre and a second entry gate from the Bhairon Mandir side,” Kumar said, adding that water bodies will be rejuvenated or created wherever feasible, along with new roads.

On February 19, HT reported how a ₹400-crore plan for the modernisation of the Delhi Zoo had been approved by the Delegated Investment Board (DIB) under the Union government.

The project is planned to be executed over a period of four years, in segments, with special focus on habitat enrichment for animals and knowledge building for students, while also improving the visitor experience, bringing them closer to animals, separated by glass enclosures or walls where possible.