Khattar announces state of the art convention centre for Gurugram

Khattar, who was speaking at the inauguration of 18th UMI conference in Gurugram said that the union government will also arrange the funds for the construction and development of the centre.

Union minister for housing and urban development Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday announced that a large convention centre, with the capacity to hold international conferences and cultural events will be developed in Gurugram, and he will take up this matter with the Haryana government on priority.

Khattar during the event in Gurugram on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

Khattar, who was speaking at the inauguration of 18th UMI conference in Gurugram said that the union government will also arrange the funds for the construction and development of the centre.

“The Haryana government should identify and provide land for the convention centre. Central government organisations are ready to finance it. Gurugram is a major urban centre and there is an urgent need for such a facility with state of art facilities,” said Khattar.

The city at present does not have a large convention centre but the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) Gurugram plans to develop two convention centres, one along the Dwarka expressway near Babupur village and another near Golf Course extension road near Ullahwas village. The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has also planned to develop a convention centre in Sector 29 but this is still in the planning stage.

Haryana additional chief secretary, transport department, Dr Raja Shekhar Vundru said that Haryana has set an exemplary benchmark in the field of urban mobility, serving as a model for other states to follow. Vundru further said that Haryana was the first state which connected all the villages, and now the time had come to connect all the cities through a multimodal transport system, so that people do not take long commutes. “Both Gurugram and Faridabad will be getting new electricity buses under the PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme and this will boost transport services apart from reducing pollution,” he said.

Chander Shekhar Khare, managing director, Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL) said that they are trying to build the Gurugram Metro as a sustainable transport solution for the city, which will boost the liability and reduce pollution significantly. “We will be participating in the conference to learn the best urban transport practices from experts. The objective is to execute the Gurugram Metro project within timelines and as per the highest standards” he said during the event.