Close on the heels of the Centre’s decision to allot 4.84 hectares of land to the Maharashtra Government for the Babasaheb Ambedkar memorial, the State-run Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has short-listed 10 consultants from among the 13 firms that responded to global expression of interest invited for undertaking the construction of the monument near Chaitya Bhoomi at Dadar in central Mumbai.
Official sources said that the MMRDA would soon send the Request for Proposal (RFP) documents to the shortlisted consultants and expect them to submit the concept design for the Grand Memorial for which the Government of India has decided to hand over 4.84 hectare of Indu Mill land to the Maharashtra Government, .
The evaluation of the expressions of interest by the 13 consultants was arrived at by a Committee of expert architects appointed by MMRDA.
The MMRDA, which has been appointed as a Special Planning Authority by the State Government for the Memorial, will play a crucial role in preparing detailed estimates, selecting appropriate consultant and construction of the Memorial.
“The MMRDA will reward the best design from among the master plans submitted by the shortlisted consultants with a prize of Rs.1crore,” a MMRDA spokesperson said.
The shortlisted consultants include: M/s. Asymptote Architecture, New York along with M/s. Skyline Architects. Muralage, M/s. Somaya & Kalappa Consultants, M/s. Jakob+Macfarl-Ane, M/s. VSPB Associates, M/s. Shashi Prabhu & Assosciates, M/s. UDP International (Urban Design & Planning Consultants ltd.) and M/s. GMP International Gmbh along with M/s. Astute Engineering Services Pvt.ltd.