Lucknow, Mar 5 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Assembly speaker Satish Mahana has announced that Uttar Pradesh will have a new Vidhan Sabha building in the state capital.

He said he was optimistic that the 18th Assembly, whose term ends in 2027, will be able to have a few sittings in the new building.

The Speaker said funds have been set aside for this project and work will begin soon.

The UP government is likely to hire a consultant to design the new Vidhan Sabha, which should be strong and well equipped keeping in mind the technological advances.

The Uttar Pradesh government has made a token budgetary provision of Rs 50 crore for the purpose. Sources said that the token amount will take care of the design and other basic needs of the project.

A proper budget for the construction of the new Vidhan Sabha would be announced later.

Sources said that though the land where the new building would be constructed is yet to be identified, it is most likely that a land chunk of around 160 acres, once identified during the Akhilesh Yadav government near Chak Gajaria Farms on the Sultanpur road, for the purpose could be finalised.

The new building was likely to have gymnasium and recreational facilities too.