The rise in the GST rate in this year’s budget has led to a cost escalation for two buildings of the Central Vista project, the ministry of housing and urban affairs informed Parliament on Wednesday.

The ministry said three buildings meant to house ministries would be completed by May 2025.

“There was cost escalation in the new Parliament building and the Vice-President’s enclave because of the increase in the GST rate from 12 per cent to 18 per cent effective from July 1, 2022,” said Tokhan Sahu, minister of state for housing and urban affairs, in the Lok Sabha.

Apart from GST, the cost escalation was also attributed to the increase in the prices of steel and cement and the rise in labour wages during the period of execution of work, Sahu added.

Additional security provisions suggested by security agencies have also increased the cost, he said.

In addition, variations in the design of the structures to better equip the new Parliament building to withstand earthquakes have also affected the budget, Sahu said.

The minister’s response came to a question in Parliament asking whether there was any cost escalation in the Central Vista project.

Speaking on the status of the project, Sahu said the development and redevelopment of Central Vista Avenue, the new Parliament building and the Vice-President’s enclave had been completed.

The construction of the Common Central Secretariat (CCS) 1, 2 and 3 and CCS 10 is ongoing with the estimated completion dates being May 2025 and April 2026, respectively, he said.