Unity Infra keen to restart NMC's mall project

NAGPUR: The impasse over construction of four malls mooted by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation at Danaganj, Jaripatka, Pachpaoli and Sitabuldi may end soon as the contractors Unity Infrastructure, that stopped the construction work of these malls in 2008, have once again evinced interest in starting the project.
A senior NMC official informed that the company officials in a letter to the NMC standing committee and municipal commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal has submitted a proposal to reconsider its decision on termination of the earlier contract of constructing the civic body's ambitious Danaganj and Jaripatka shopping malls.
The official added, "Back in 2006-07 the NMC had decided to construct malls at Jaripatka and Danaganj on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. While the Rs 145 crore Danaganj and Jaripatka malls were expected to be completed by 2009-end, the other two at Pachpaoli and Sitabuldi worth Rs 150 crore were to be completed by mid-2010. The mall developers were to pay NMC a hefty premium every year. But these projects were put on hold due to difficulty in accessing funds as a result of a severe slump in the realty sector."
Standing committee chairman Sandeep Joshi informed that Unity Infra in a letter to the civic body had informed the then municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta that their financial condition had made it impossible for them to continue the construction work of Danaganj and Jaripatka malls and they want to withdraw from the project. "However recently the company has once again shown interest in re-starting the construction work," Joshi informed.
Joshi said that even though the company is interested in re-starting the mall construction work, they would not be given approval just on a request letter. "The company will once again have to participate in tender process and if shortlisted and selected only then will it be issued work orders. A final decision regarding the projects will be taken by civic head Sanjeev Jaiswal and standing panel after scanning all the details of the proposal put up by the company," he added.
The contractor withdrew from the project in 2008, their contract was terminated and the earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 50 lakh for each mall had been forfeited. "Similarly, the one-time premium paid by the company of Rs 1.50 crore for Jaripatka mall and Rs 2.50 crore for Danaganj mall had been seized by the corporation," said Joshi.
While the construction of Danaganj and Jaripatka was going on, Unity Infraprojects had bagged the contract for Pachpaoli and Sitabuldi water works malls too. However, the realty market in the city took a hit before construction could start at these sites. The NMC standing committee finally cancelled the contract in April 2010 when the company failed to restart work.