Indian bidder promises skills spin-off if given Parliament nod
Published:Wednesday | April 12, 2023 | 1:28 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
MUMBAI, India:
A leading Indian conglomerate, which has thrown its hat into the ring for the multibillion-dollar contract to construct a new state-of-the-art Parliament in Jamaica, says the country’s workforce stands to benefit if it emerges as the winner as local workers would be trained in various skills.
Workers trained while working on the project in Jamaica would also stand to gain employment with the company overseas.
Shapoorji Pallonji is among several major companies, both local and international, vying for the $7.5-billion contract to erect the new Houses of Parliament building at the National Heroes Circle in Kingston.
The Indian company, which operates in construction, real estate, textiles, engineered goods, home appliances, shipping, publications, power, and biotechnology, has constructed parliamentary buildings, hotels, universities, stadiums, and power plants in several countries.
West Indies Home Contractors Limited and China Harbour Engineering Company Limited are also among those bidding to take part in the construction of the massive 300,000-square-foot building, which will be one of the largest projects in the Caribbean in the last 20 years.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness last month disclosed that the bids are currently being evaluated.
He also shared that the intention is to break ground in the first quarter of 2023-2024 fiscal year and start construction by the second, citing June 2025 as the estimated completion timeline.
ANTICIPATING POSITIVE A RESPONSE
Sharpoorji Pallonji General Manager Vineet Shankdher told The Gleaner during a recent meeting with journalists from the Caribbean and Latin America at its headquarters in Mumbai that it is looking forward to a positive response from the Jamaican Government.
“Based on our qualifications, our experience and what we can offer as a package, we should be selected,” he said confidently. “We are bringing the expertise, the skill set, the experience. We construct lots of parliaments in other countries and India is the largest democracy in the world, so we value democracy, and so what we offer is the technology and skills.”
Additionally, he said that the company believes in imparting skills to the locals and, if successful, local workers would be trained on-site in skills areas, such as masonry, and carpentry as well as understanding engineering concepts and safety measures.
“Working with an international company is good. These people can work in Dubai ‘cause we are doing a lot of infrastructure work in Dubai,” he added.
Shankdher further noted that the company is responsible for the construction of Gambia’s parliament and Ghana’s presidential building, which is rated among the top 10 presidential buildings in the world.
He also noted that the company has worked with Guyana and had won the bid to construct its stadium.
The Parliament project in Jamaica will entail two major stages. The first involves the relocation of Jamaica’s Houses of Parliament, currently located at Duke Street in Kingston, to a new building on seven of the 50 acres designated as National Heroes Park. The remaining space will be transformed into green areas.
The second phase involves renovations outside the boundaries of National Heroes Park, which would result in the relocation of government ministries around the circular boundary of the park and renovating the surrounding communities into a modern city.
The Urban Development Corporation will manage the construction of the new Houses of Parliament building.