Afghan Parliament to be ready by year-end: CPWD

NEW DELHI: Afghan Paliament, the landmark Rs 700-crore project undertaken by the CPWD, will be ready by December this year as major works are nearing completion.

The core area and functional area of the Afghan Parliament are expected to be operational by December 2013, said CPWD Director General VK Gupta here today.

Construction of the historic building is being carried out by a dedicated team of Central Public Works Department (CPWD) officials in challenging conditions, Gupta said.

CPWD, which completed 159 years today, has also constructed a green building, first of its kind in the country, for the Environment and Forest Ministry in the capital.

Named as Paryabhawan, it is a net-zero energy building, which will be generating the total requirement of energy.

It is a first of its kind building which will be generating solar power to cater its total energy requirement, Gupta said.

Constructed at a cost of Rs 200 crore, the seven-storyed building is equipped with a solar plant to cater 14 lakh units, the total energy requirement in a year.

This entire energy demand is being generated through highest efficiency monocrystalline solar PV panels, located at rooftop with huge cantilevers. Energy thus generated shall be fed back to NDMC grid from where supply is initially taken.

The roof top solar system in this building is going to be the largest roof top solar system in multi storeyed buildings in India, said Gupta.

Encouraged by the successful state-of-the-art project, it is learnt that New and Renewable Energy Ministry is exploring the possibilities of equipping various government buildings like Shastri Bhawan and Nirman Bhawan into such zero energy system.

CPWD with a large fleet of professional engineers is involved in the construction of strategic roads at high altitude on the borders.

While the 43 km road between Debong to Gorola near Sikkim is awaiting black topping, work is going on the 25 km stretch from Giagong to Kerang adjacent Tibet.

The oxygen level is below five per cent in this sector, said an engineer involved with the project.

Another challenging road work is going on between Thangu and Muguthang where hill slopes are unstable and hindering the progress of the work, he said.

CPWD is entrusted to construct 200 km road in the flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

Besides CPWD has also been given responsibility to construct a hospital for paramilitary forces at Maidangarhi here.