The groundwork for the new Parliament building has begun and the agencies have started digging soil in a plot where the structure will come up, officials said on Thursday. Last month, Tata Projects Limited won the bid to construct a new Parliament building near the existing one under the Central Vista redevelopment project. It is expected to be completed in around 22 months from the start of construction work. The new building will come up on plot number 118 of the Parliament House Estate. "One of the receptions for the entrance to Parliament building is being shifted to widen the space for movement of heavy vehicles," an official said.

He said small offices of the CPWD and a power station have been shifted from the plot to pave the way for the new Parliament building, adding that digging work has been started. Another official said the work to shift two entrances to the existing Parliament building has also begun. The redevelopment project of Central Vista -- the nation's power corridor -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a common central secretariat and revamping of the 3-km-long Rajpath, from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate