By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, June 4: The state government has set a target of November this year to complete the construction of Shillong International Centre for Performing Arts and Culture (SICPAC) at Mawdiangdiang in New Shillong Township.
The state of the art project is 98% complete. Works for stagecraft, sound and light is going on, sources said.
There is no cost escalation despite a delay of a few years, the sources said, adding the government is working within the budget.
The Hindustan Steelworks Company Ltd, a central government PSU, is handling the project, funded under the Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources.
The project cost is Rs 151.33 crore. The Centre’s share is Rs 136.20 crore while the state’s share is Rs 15.13 crore.
The Centre has not yet released its entire share. Facilities at the SICPAC include a multi-purpose theatre with a seating capacity of 1,750, an open-air theatre with a seating capacity of 15,000 and parking space.
The project was sanctioned on March 27, 2014 and the contract was awarded on February 25, 2015.
The SICPAC will also have performance space, banquet halls, international guesthouses and international convention centre.
It will house an art gallery, tribal museum, banquet hall, office space, media centre, food court, fire-fighting and prevention system, effluent treatment and rainwater harvesting system.
The facility was envisaged to host music, dance, theatre, film festival and other activities that would promote culture and arts, particularly those of the north-eastern states through cultural exchanges with various states in India and other countries.