PWD plans ‘twin towers’ at ITO to house Delhi secretariat offices

The project, likely to cost over ₹2,000 crore, promises to transform the city’s skyline and relocate all of the government’s scattered offices under a single roof

The Public Works Department (PWD) has drawn up an ambitious proposal to raise a new twin-tower complex at ITO in central Delhi which will serve as the new secretariat complex for the Delhi government, officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

The proposal awaits approval from the PWD minister before it is placed before the cabinet, said officials, who asked not to be identified. (PTI)

The project, likely to cost over ₹2,000 crore, promises to transform the city’s skyline and relocate all of the government’s scattered offices under a single roof. The proposal awaits approval from the PWD minister before it is placed before the cabinet, said officials, who asked not to be identified.

If cleared, the project will replace Vikas Minar and an adjoining office block – currently housing the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) – with two high-rise interconnected towers spread over 53,603 square metres.

The new towers, the officials cited above said, will be equipped with modern facilities such as advanced fire safety systems, energy-efficient designs, centralised data infrastructure, and green building technology.

“This will be the city government’s new nerve centre,” an official aware of the plan said, adding that the complex will house the chief minister, cabinet ministers, the chief secretary, senior bureaucrats, and all major departments under one roof. “The idea is to create a centralised hub for governance, ending the inefficiency of having offices scattered across multiple buildings.”

Officials said the two towers will be linked either through a sky bridge or an underpass, enabling seamless movement between departments.

“Once the proposal is seen and forwarded by the PWD minister and cabinet approval is secured, the project will take around 48 months to complete,” said the official cited above.

PWD has also sought ₹52 crore to hire a project consultant who will prepare detailed project report and finalise details such as height, number of floors, and design features.

To be sure, the idea of a new secretariat is not new. In 2022, proposals to redevelop the old office buildings at ITO had surfaced but stalled due to design changes, according to the official cited above.

Last month, chief minister Rekha Gupta confirmed that the government was exploring potential sites for a new central complex, and the ITO plan is one of the leading contenders.

The urgency, the official said, largely stems from the limitations of the present Delhi Secretariat on Vikas Marg – a few hundred metres from the proposed spot at ITO.

Built in 1982 as accommodation for Asian Games athletes, the existing complex occupies 40,970 square metres but has long outgrown its capacity. Much of the city’s administration still operates out of rented or outdated premises such as the Civil Lines office complex. Key government departments – including the offices of the revenue commissioner, labour commissioner, GST commissioner, education secretary, transport commissioner, excise commissioner, and food and civil supplies – meanwhile, remain scattered across the city.

“The current building is simply inadequate,” another official said. “It lacks modern facilities and forces officers to spend long hours shuttling between locations for meetings. A centralised, modern space has become a necessity for efficient governance.”

Besides the ITO twin towers, officials said a few other vacant plots have also been identified as possible sites for the new secretariat. These options will also be presented to the PWD minister for consideration. But for now, the ITO project remains the frontrunner largely due to its location at the city’s administrative heart.

If the cabinet clears the proposal, PWD plans to float tenders and initiate preparatory work. Once started, the buildings are expected to take about four years to complete.