Pragati Maidan in Delhi revamp to be wrapped up in September

The redevelopment work started in 2018 and was scheduled to be completed by the second half of 2020.

The redevelopment of Pragati Maidan, which began in 2018, will be completed by September this year, two years later than the initial deadline, officials said on Sunday.

Work underway at Pragati Maidan on Sunday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

LC Goyal, chairman and managing director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), said, “The redevelopment work--including the testing and commissioning (which is basically to hold events to ensure seamless functioning of the new setup)--is progressing at a fast pace and will be completed by September this year, except for one hall that will be completed by November.”

He added, “The landscape work has already started. The construction work will be done by June-end or July, but we need some time to test all the facilities.”

Pragati Maidan’s redevelopment work started in 2018 and was scheduled to be completed by the second half of 2020. Goyal said that the project was delayed due to a shortage of workers, especially skilled, during the pandemic. To meet the September deadline, efforts are being made to increase the number of workers at the site to expedite the work. “The work has resumed at full scale. Currently, we have 5,000 workers at the site, and in the next few weeks the number will go up to 6,500,” said Goyal.

Officials said the annual trade fair will be held in November, “on a grand scale”.

The revamped exhibition and convention centre is likely to be the venue for the G20 summit next year, officials said.

Though a five-star hotel is proposed as part of the project, ITPO plans to invite bids for it when the hospitality industry has recovered from the impact of the pandemic.

“As of now, we are not inviting bids for it as the hospitality sector is still recovering from the impact of the pandemic,” said Goyal.