Almost done: The enclave in lower Mothithang

The drone of an excavator, its long metal arm cutting into stones, fills the tranquility of lower Motithang, Thimphu. Workers, covered in dust and paint, span the 31-acre area on which the ministers’ enclave is taking shape.

Some smoothen doors and windows made of wood imported all the way from Malaysia, while others polish the oak flooring.  A few of them whitewash the tall walls of the structures.

The 15 duplexes within the enclave will house seven heads of states as Bhutan prepares to host the 16th SAARC summit in April for the first time.

“We’re working 12 hours everyday to get these buildings ready by then,” the project director, P D Wangdi, said.  He said sometimes workers stayed up until 4:00 am to complete work.

Each mud-coloured duplex, erected on 6,000 square feet land, has a carport, six rooms, including two master bedrooms, and three toilets.  The master bedroom with a walk in closet, where the leaders of each SAARC member country will live, opens to a wooden balcony.

Except for the vestibules, kitchens, bathrooms and stairs, which have marble flooring, the rest of the rooms are panelled, including the floors.  Walls are all half paneled, with a Nu 37,000 chandelier hanging from the ceiling of each living room.

With stylish window handles and lightings, all rooms have bay windows allowing lots of light and fresh air from the blue pine forest that surrounds the enclave.

A flight of 24 marble stairs with wooden and glass railings separates the ground floor from the first of the bungalow.  The construction of each bungalow, officials said, cost about Nu 12 mn.  “We heard that two bungalows would be given to each country,” said one of the project officials.

Various agencies are engaged in getting these buildings up and ready.  The department of forest is doing the plantation of trees and taking care of the landscape; Bhutan power corporation is doing the exterior lightings; foreign ministry, taking care of cutleries and bedding facilities; and the roads department maintaining the road that runs through the enclave.  Every two or three buildings has a site engineer to look into the work.

“The furniture will come from Delhi,” said one of the project officials, Kinley. “Carpets have already been ordered from one of the companies in the country and furnishing will begin by March.”

The Nu 90 mn worth of furnishings is funded by the SAARC secretariat. “The finance ministry would decide on what to do with the furnishings after the summit,” said the project manager, Tshering Penjor. “And it’s for the first time that a head of state is given a building each to live in.”

Project officials said that two interior designers from Delhi have been hired to do the interior decoration.  A flag of the country’s head of state will be hoisted in front of each bungalow he or she is staying in.  Another nine flags, representing each country, and the SAARC flag will be hoisted in front of the massive iron-gate that leads to the enclave. “We are told that entourage for the summit would start coming in by April 24,” said Tshering Penjor.

Meanwhile, the prime minister’s residence, which will be used to host cocktail dinners, has about 70 people working at a time to complete it by March end.  At present, it’s strewn with wires, bamboos poles and cement bags.

“We have people from Rajasthan to work with the tiles and marbles, and carpenters from Mumbai and Delhi,” said one of the engineers, Jigme. “For the rest, like sweeping and cleaning, we have local people.”

Officials said that the bungalows would be manned by 64 G4S personnel and six security officers.  “Almost 75 percent of the work is done,” said the project director. “People have moved in to clean up the houses and the rest involved in housekeeping are also ready.”  Source: Kuenselonline