Central Vista revamp: 7,000 defence ministry officials to move to new offices

New Delhi: Over 7,000 employees belonging to 27 different offices of the defence ministry and the three services will move from their current workplaces in and around the Raisina Hills area to two new swanky buildings, officials said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to inaugurate the two office complexes on Thursday, they said.

The two new multi-storey buildings, one at the Kasturba Gandhi Marg area and another at Africa Avenue, have been constructed at a cost of Rs 775 crore by the defence ministry, the officials said.

The two buildings have a total space of 9.60 lakhs sq feet as against 9.22 lakh sq feet vacated by the 27 offices in various hutments and office complexes, they said.

Fourteen offices are being relocated to the KG Marg complex having a built-up area of 4.52 lakh sq feet while 13 offices are being relocated to the Africa Avenue building that has a total built-up area of 5.08 lakh sq feet, the officials said.

The process to shifting the existing offices to the new buildings will start in the next few days, they said.

The new buildings, constructed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development as part of its Central Vista project, provide a modern eco-friendly, green building environment, the officials said.

The total land parcel required for the new office complexes is 13 acres as against 50 acres where the existing offices are spread across.

"The location and space of these buildings have been so designed that pre-existing trees have not been disturbed," said an official.

The officials said having 27 offices in only two buildings will ensure greater efficiency, coordination and working environment.

In addition to the office space, the two buildings have provisions for multi-level car parking for a total of over 1500 cars.

The defence ministry had constituted a joint coordination committee under a joint secretary to coordinate various requirements of specific organisations, space allocation and common amenities.

The committee included representatives of the Department of Military Affairs, Department of Defence Production, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (ESW), Department of Defence R and D and three services.