The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has cleared a proposal to lease the Jayaprakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) in Lucknow to a private consortium for 35 years, shifting the responsibility of completing the project and running its major facilities to the private operator.
The consortium of Vrindavan Bottlers and Rockwood Hotels & Resorts, selected through an open bidding process, will complete the pending works at its own cost and operate the centre for 35 years, said officials from the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA).
The arrangement comes against the backdrop of a long-running political battle over the project between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government.
What does the consortium have to do?
LDA officials said the consortium was selected after the authority floated a global tender in March 2026.
After signing the Letter of Acceptance, the consortium will be required to:
-Complete all pending works, including interior, electrical and fire-safety works, at its own cost.
-Complete the works and commence operations within two years.
-Deposit a Rs 25-crore performance guarantee with the LDA.
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-Pay Rs 10.11 crore to the LDA after receiving the Letter of Acceptance.
-Pay Rs 6 crore every year once operations begin, with an annual 5% escalation during the lease period.
According to the LDA, this annual payment is expected to rise to around Rs 35 crore by the end of the 35-year lease period.
What facilities will it operate?
Spread over 18 acres adjacent to the Ram Manohar Lohia Park in Lucknow, the convention centre was envisioned on the lines of the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.
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The consortium will operate most facilities: the 108-room hotel, multi-level parking facility with space for around 750 vehicles, convention centre, auditorium and sports facilities.
The hotel already has some basic infrastructure in place, but the private operator will have to complete the required works, furnishing, electrical systems, fire equipment and other works before making it operational.
The complex also has a museum block. As per the agreement, the museum on JP’s life and ideology will remain under the control of the LDA, with its future to be decided later.
The consortium can also provide sports-facility and club memberships, with the applicable membership charges to be determined by a committee rather than solely by the private operator, sources said.
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Why is the government presenting this as a solution?
Officials said the immediate advantage for the LDA is that it will not have to spend the estimated Rs 200-250 crore required to complete the remaining works.
The JPNIC has already involved an expenditure of around Rs 821 crore, which the government claimed has escalated from an initial project estimate of about Rs 200 crore.
LDA Vice-Chairman Prathamesh Kumar said the project was handed over to the authority last year on the grounds that the LDA would be required to return the expenditure incurred so far to the state government over the next 30 years.
The new lease model, officials said, is intended to address both the additional expenditure needed to complete the unfinished centre and the recurring cost of maintaining and operating it.
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Under the arrangement, the private consortium will make the investment needed to finish the project, while the LDA will receive lease-related payments once the centre becomes operational.
Who are the winning bidders?
LDA officials said three major companies or consortia participated in the global tender invited in March. They declined to share details of the other two bidders.
After scrutiny and evaluation, the Vrindavan Bottlers-Rockwood Hotels & Resorts consortium was selected through the open-bid process.
LDA officials described Rockwood Hotels & Resorts as an international hotel operator with operations across around 30 countries, including Dubai and New York.
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The company is headed by Chairman and Managing Director Somesh Agarwal.
Officials said Vrindavan Bottlers is one of Uttar Pradesh’s largest bottling companies, with an annual turnover of around Rs 400 crore.
The project was originally to be run through a society. That arrangement was subsequently discontinued, with the society dissolved last year. The decision was then taken to bring the project under the LDA, which eventually sought a private operator through the tender process.
Why is JPNIC politically sensitive?
Named after socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan, JPNIC in Gomti Nagar was conceived as a convention, sports and cultural centre. But the SP government lost power in 2017 before the project could be completed.
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After the BJP came to power, construction was stalled and an inquiry was ordered. The BJP government subsequently raised questions over construction, contracts and expenditure.
Akhilesh, in turn, has repeatedly accused the BJP government of deliberately keeping the centre shut despite the expenditure already incurred. He has also attempted to enter the premises during political programmes.
Recently, while targeting the SP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cited JPNIC as an example of alleged misuse of public money. “The Saifai family had looted public money. The JPNIC that the SP was constructing was estimated to cost Rs 200 crore, but even after spending Rs 821 crore, the building remained incomplete,” Yogi had said.
What happens next?
The Cabinet decision changes JPNIC from a government-funded project awaiting completion into a long-term private-operation model.
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The consortium now has two years to complete the pending works and make JPNIC operational. The unfinished work is estimated to cost between Rs 200 crore and Rs 250 crore.
The Jai Prakash Narayan building in Lucknow. (Express Archive)