PANJIM: The process of constructing the 5000-seater world-class Convention Centre at Dona Paula has gained momentum with the State government issuing Letter of Award to the bidder – Vascon-DCS Consortium.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Director Dr Suresh Shanbhogue said that the Letter of Award was issued to the successful bidder Vascon-DCS Consortium few days back. He said that the bidder has accepted it and the consortium will now set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Companies Act following which an agreement will be signed with the concessionaire next month.
The project comprises mandatory facilities such as 5000-seater International Convention Centre, a starred convention hotel of minimum 300 keys and four-screen multiplex with seating capacity of 800 seats.
“Beyond these mandatory facilities, the concessionaire will have the flexibility to develop commercial projects as downstream assets”, Dr Shanbhogue said.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 540 crore and it will be constructed on Design Build Finance Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis with a concession period of 60 years. The time-line for construction of International Convention Centre and Multiplex is 30 months while, the convention hotel will have to be built within 42 months from the date of financial closure.
In April this year, the Goa Cabinet had approved a proposal to set up an international convention centre on public-private partnership (PPP) basis at the Dona Paula plateau.
According to Dr Shanbhogue, the government will allot land to the concessionaire, who will build the project and share revenue with the government till the 60-year concession period ends. At the end of the concession period the entire facility will be transferred to the State government.
After Goa became the permanent venue for the International Film festival of India (IFFI), the State government had plans to construct the world-class Convention Centre to host the 50th IFFI event in November 2019. But the project failed to see the light of the day.
