The construction of the National Secretariat Complex was shelved during the 10th Plan due to budget constraints, but the Ministry of Works and Human Settlement (MOWHS), which proposed the project expects that it would be taken up during the 11th FYP.
For the last one decade, the National Secretariat Complex has been only on paper.
“During the 9th Plan, it was planned that (structures) for at least four of 10 ministries – agriculture, finance, foreign affairs and education – would be constructed,” said DUDES director, Rinchen Dorji.
Since these ministries are scattered, having all these ministries together would prove convenient, said another official from the MoWHS.
Asked whether the ministry has proposed to the government again, the director said that government has decided not to take up the proposal as of now but might do so in the 11th FYP.
According to the director, designs are ready and so is the Bill of Quality (BOQ) but construction of the complex is held due to budget constraint.
The average cost in 2008 was estimated upto Nu 640 mn. But now the costs would have increased.
“On top of that, the consultant charged the authorities an additional 7%,” said the director.
Earlier reports said that the agriculture and foreign affairs ministry complex would be funded by the Indian government but a DUDES official said that this was untrue and that the funds would come from the royal government.
But there were talks that the education ministry had got World Bank funding which could be used for the construction.
Later, however, the education ministry failed to use the funds as the donors were taking time for environmental clearance, and studying resettlement process.Therefore, the fund was instead used for the construction of schools.