BMC to appoint agency to develop textile museum at Kalachowki

Indian Express

2 days ago

With work on the first phase nearing completion, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to appoint an external agency to restore the old mill structures and develop a textile museum at Kalachowki in Byculla East.
Estimated to cost between Rs. 80 and 100 crore, the BMC will bear no financial expenses of the project and will be borne by 'a reputed company or charitable trust or society' who can invest through their CSR model.
Sprawled over an area of 44,000 square metre within the compound of the India United Mill no. 2 and 3 at Kalachowki, the civic body charted plans to redevelop the space as a textile museum in 2019. The project aimed at restoring the old mill buildings, whose history dates back to as early as 1869, into a textile museum while also developing recreational spaces within the compound with the aim of educating citizens about Mumbai's rich industrial history.
Over the past few years, the civic body launched work on the establishment of a musical fountain over a pond, murals, amphitheatre among other recreational spaces within the compound of the mill. According to the BMC, the work on this phase has now been concluded with the final commissioning of the musical fountain underway.
Launching the next phase of works, the civic body is now set to commence the restoration of the dilapidated mill structures, which will be redeveloped into a textile museum. On Thursday, the BMC's heritage conservation cell floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) inviting eligible and reputed public companies, charitable trusts or society to develop the textile museum. According to officials, the scope of work for the agency will include the redevelopment of the old structures earmarked for restoration as well as overlooking its operation and maintenance for the next 20 years.
'Besides the restoration of the old mills into a museum, the agency will also be responsible for carrying out development and maintenance of the museum, appointment of historians at the site as well as and maintenance of all other allied projects within the compound. An external agency is being roped in as the BMC needs someone who has an expertise in the subject of history and museums. We will be examining the conceptual designs submitted by the interested parties in the days to come,' said a BMC official. The museum is proposed to comprise a mill machinery from the 19th and 20th century.
In its EOI, the civic body has invited the interested parties as a part of CSR activity or any other form of private investment of minimum Rs. 80 – 100 crore.