Goa Haat work order soon, bldg to come up in city

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday, after the cabinet meeting, said that the work order for the construction of the Goa Haat at Panaji has been approved and will be issued soon. The Goa Haat will showcase the state’s various arts and crafts under one roof.
The project is being executed through special assistance funds received from the NITI Aayog, government of India, to mark Goa’s 60th year of Liberation.
The construction was expected to cost over Rs 12.5 crore. However, as the quotations received from agencies were above the expected amount, the works were put up for approval before the Goa State Works Advisory Board at a meeting in February under the chairmanship of the chief secretary.
The lowest quote by an agency was for an amount of over Rs 38 crore, incl-uding GST.
The Board, at its meeting held on February 23, accordingly suggested that bringing down the quotes should be explored and that the quotations should be put up before the council of ministers for appropriate decision.
The agency that quoted the lowest, Bagkiya Constructions, was called for negotiations to bring down the offer. Bagkiya Constructions has offered a rebate of 10% on his quoted amount. The negotiated amount now stands at over Rs 34, which is still 14% above the sought budget.
The state cabinet discussed the same on Wednesday.