Rio inaugurates capital cultural hall in Kohima

December 2, 2021 182 Views No Comment

Correspondent KOHIMA, DEC 2 (NPN) : State chief minister Neiphiu Rio inaugurated the capital cultural hall under the Kohima Smart City Development Ltd. (KSCDL) here near NSF Martyr’s Park on Wednesday.

Speaking as the special guest at the inaugural function, Rio said the world class cultural hall would become the pride of the state and urged the citizens to make good use of the hall by utilizing the potential of the infrastructure. Stating that the construction of the hall has a long history, Rio said construction of the hall was conceptualized since 2003 when he was the chief minister and discussed during the visit of then prime minister.

He said it was taken up under JNNURM scheme by urban development department, but the construction had gone through bad weathers because funding was not available. He said that court case was also filed, but it was settled outside the court.

Rio said that next phase was conceptualized and brought under the smart city mission, which was redesigned and christened as recreational tourism project as part of the mission.

The chief minister said that after it was formulated under Smart City mission, he had set December 1 deadline for the department to complete. He said that as promised and through pressure, the department led by CEO and team made it a magnificent hall.

Rio said that local people should get trained to manage the hall after it was ready to take over. He said that the hall would give a lot of employment opportunities for the youth and technicians.

The chief minister appreciated and congratulated those involved in making of the cultural hall.

Delivering technical report, KSCDL CEO Er. K. Theunuo informed that the project of the hall was initially proposed at a cost of Rs. 17.60 crore. He said the Ministry of housing and urban affairs released 33% of the project cost (Rs. 5.66 crore) in 2005, adding that the state share was Rs. 11.94 crore.

Theunuo said after it was taken up by smart city mission, the total project cost was Rs. 36.35 crore. He said Rs. 14.84 crore was spent on construction works and Rs. 21.51 crore was spent on ancillary work.

For construction, he said work order was issued on Sep 14, 2019 while ancillary work order was issued on 23 July 2021. Constructed by M/s Chabou & Co, the four-storey hall has seating capacity of 1,800. Theunuo said the hall would be advertised for private party management, but till such time it would be managed by KSCDL.

Short speech was delivered by advisor urban development & municipal affairs, Dr. Neikiesalie Kire. TZ Newmai from Symphony Music academy enthralled the gathering with a song.

Principal secretary, Urban Development & Municipal Affairs & State Mission Director, Smart City Mission, Himato Zhimomi chaired the programme.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/rio-inaugurates-capital-cultural-hall-in-kohima/245731.html