Mantralaya readying a plush visitors lounge

The Public Works Department's (PWD) much-awaited project of building a new plush glass facade lounge in Mantralaya for visitors will soon see progress. A senior PWD official said they are expecting necessary permits to begin the project by next month. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has shown interest in undertaking the said project works, he said.

This lounge will be built on the multilevel underground parking area which is being built by the MMRC for around 700 vehicles of staffers, officers, political leaders and visitors.

As per the proposed plan, a two-storeyed glass facade lounge will be built. One level will be for visitors and will also have conference rooms. The other level will be dedicated as a parcel drop-in centre as Mantralaya receives many parcels for various departments on a daily basis. The waiting area will be approximately 900 sq mt and will be able to accommodate 700 visitors. The lounge will be useful in preventing direct entry of visitors to the main office to maintain confidentiality and social distancing.

The MMRC is also building an underground subway that will connect the Mantralaya building, New Administrative building to the nearby underground metro station. As MMRC is involved in these projects, the lounge building construction project is also planned to be handed over to this agency for smooth and timely execution of project works, said a PWD official. Reportedly the glass facade lounge project will cost approximately Rs 45 crore and will begin once the underground four-level parking work is complete.