The saga of twin tower

When at the beginning of the last year, Assam Government announced twin tower having 65 stories, there was an air of awe and disbelief.

But when on February 2, 2018, the Assam Government inked a deal with the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) for setting up a 65-storey twin tower trade centre in the city, everybody looked it up as game-changer.

Itwas supposed to be constructed at a 30-bigha plot at Basistha Chariali alongthe NH-37 and the MoU signed a day ahead of the Global Investors' Summit.

Religious rituals followed it on July 18, 2018, and work was to start at an estimated cost of Rs 1,900 crore and complete the same within 60 months.

It has been 15 months since then, but nobody knew what was happening to that project. The brain behind the project Ravi Capoor is now the Textile Secretary with the Government of India and Assam Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary is too busy saving NRL from going to a private organisation.

According to insider sources, the funds have emerged as the major hurdle in the construction of the twin tower trade centre.

TheIndustries and Commerce department went overboard and chalked out the plan forthe twin tower without going into the details of the funding pattern and thesources of funding for such a mega project, informed the sources.

On the other hand, the 65-storey project has also raised safety concerns since Assam falls in Zone V, a high-risk earthquake category. The tallest existing structure in Guwahati has G+15 floors as per the norms set by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). So technically also it became a major challenge to overcome the earthquake threat.

The iconic twin towers were to house consulate offices of Southeast Asian nations, commercial and financial offices, convention centres, museums, hotels, shopping complex, and serviced apartments.