No deal with M/s Maki and Associates: APCRDA

Visakhapatnam: APCRDA said that the state government never entered into an agreement with Japan’s M/s Maki and Associates as the Master Architect of the Government Complex. Responding to a report that appeared in these columns, APCRDA on Saturday said that Gover-nment of AP, through APCRDA, has conducted a competition for inviting conceptual architectural proposals from reputed architects.

Those who participated had to enter into a contract on abiding by the terms and conditions called ‘competition contract’.  The Competition Contract has clearly stated that APCRDA will formally appoint the winning firm in the competition subject to agreement to the terms and conditions set in the contract which include the “Client’s Right to accept any proposal or reject any or all proposals, said a statement released by the APCRDA.

The statement also said that government received adverse comments from public on the designs proposed by Maki & Associates. The main reasons for dissatisfaction and resentment among people was the resemblance of the proposed Assembly design to thermal power plant cooling towers and also it’s similarity to the Assembly building in Chandigarh. “From these comments and views from the public and media, it is clear that original and creative designs are expected from the winner of the competition, but sadly the designs remained photocopies of designs of existing buildings elsewhere in the perception of public,” said APCRDA.

On the “open” selection process leading to Foster + Partners and Architect Hafeez Contractor, CRDA said that  the RFP for open bidding was conducted in a transparent manner on e-procurement website in line with the government procurement norms. Out of the three bidders who participated in the open competition, ‘Foster + Partners & Consortium’ has been selected as per the terms and conditions of the RFP and have been appointed as the Master Architect for Amaravati Government Complex.

Foster + Partners has undertaken many prestigious projects, and projects relevant to the Government Complex project, such as the German Parliament and the Supreme Court of Singapore, said APCRDA. The financial implication in engaging Foster + Partners at Rs 60.72 rore is substantially lower than the revised proposal sent by Maki & Associates, at Rs 87 crore thereby saving precious public money of about Rs 26 crore. When the concept designs are prepared by the architect, necessary consultations will be taken up,  the statement said.