The Maharashtra state government has invited fresh bids to design and develop the mid-sea Chhatrapati Shivaji memorial off Marine Drive. The government plans to open the bids in the first week of September.
A consortium of a Canadian and Indian firm was to design and develop the Rs.1,900-crore Shivaji memorial. But as the Canadian company , which had also designed Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, backed out of the project last month due to miscommunication with the Indian firm, the state had to call for fresh bids. “There was a miscomunication between the two firms. The Indian company wanted the Canadian firm only to work at primary stage of designing the project, while the state government wanted the latter to be involved in the entire project. Now, as the Canadian firm has backed out, the state government has forfeited its deposit of Rs.5 lakh,“ said P S Meena, principal secretary of the general administration department.
While sources claimed that the state government will now bar the Indian company that was part of the consortium from the fresh bidding process, Meena said, “We will decide on this later. As of now, we don't know who are going to bid.“
The proposed project had earlier failed twice to attract more than a single bid for the job of the project management consultant. It is one of the pet projects of the BJP government and has got all the necessary clearances from the Centre.
The basic concept for the mid-sea memorial was conceived in the 1980s. Later, in 2004 and in 2009, the Democratic Front government had promised during the state assembly elections that the memorial would be constructed in the sea.
The proposed memorial includes an equestrian statue of the warrior king, an amphitheatre, a museum and an underwater aquarium in the Arabian Sea.
A consortium of a Canadian and Indian firm was to design and develop the Rs.1,900-crore Shivaji memorial. But as the Canadian company , which had also designed Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, backed out of the project last month due to miscommunication with the Indian firm, the state had to call for fresh bids. “There was a miscomunication between the two firms. The Indian company wanted the Canadian firm only to work at primary stage of designing the project, while the state government wanted the latter to be involved in the entire project. Now, as the Canadian firm has backed out, the state government has forfeited its deposit of Rs.5 lakh,“ said P S Meena, principal secretary of the general administration department.
While sources claimed that the state government will now bar the Indian company that was part of the consortium from the fresh bidding process, Meena said, “We will decide on this later. As of now, we don't know who are going to bid.“
The proposed project had earlier failed twice to attract more than a single bid for the job of the project management consultant. It is one of the pet projects of the BJP government and has got all the necessary clearances from the Centre.
The basic concept for the mid-sea memorial was conceived in the 1980s. Later, in 2004 and in 2009, the Democratic Front government had promised during the state assembly elections that the memorial would be constructed in the sea.
The proposed memorial includes an equestrian statue of the warrior king, an amphitheatre, a museum and an underwater aquarium in the Arabian Sea.
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