Award-winning Arizona-based architecture firm Richard&Bauer has designed a 12.3 acre New Consulate Compound (NCC) in Nanakramguda village in Serilingampally mandal for the new premises of the US Consulate General.
The NCC will feature a design that is reflective of the rocky topography of Hyderabad on a site with several boulders that showcase the region’s natural heritage. The new Consulate General will also provide visitors a recreational zone with walking and jogging trails, rock climbing, and quiet spaces with an open lawn.
The Consulate General will inaugurate the NCC in 2020 to better accommodate its diplomatic and consular functions. It will be the first newly constructed US Consulate in the world in over 25 years. The current premises, housed in Paigah Palace, will be returned to the Telangana government.
The construction site of the NCC will be finalised within this year with plans for the ground breaking ceremony set for August 2017. Current estimates aim for the completion of the NCC by October 2020 with a move-in date between October and November.
US Consul General Michael C Mullins noted that funding for the NCC will be fixed by September 30, the last day of the present fiscal year. Mullins did not specify the cost of the NCC due to bids for investment starting in the coming week.
“We look forward to providing a more comfortable consular experience for visa applicants coming to the Consulate General and truly believe that the new premises will be a great gift for the people of Hyderabad,” said Mullins.
The US Consulate General in Hyderabad is India’s second largest issuer of H-1 visas after Chennai. It is the fifth largest issuer of student visas in the world. Consul General Michael C Mullins announced on Friday that the new facility will be able to accommodate 1,500 to 2,000 visa applicants daily with 52 interview windows and air-conditioned interior waiting rooms. Current facilities handle between 800 and 900 applicants per day with 10 interview windows. The consular entry of the NCC will feature abundant shade and protection from the rain for visa applicants.
