The government has approved an outlay of Rs.350 million ($7 mn) for the construction of a National Media Centre here that will serve as a news source and a service hub for Indian and foreign media.

The approval came during a meeting of the Expenditure and Finance Committee of the ministry of information and broadcasting chaired by secretary Navin Chawla. The project will come up on a 1.96-acre plot some 500 metres from Parliament House in the centre of the capital.

The committee also selected the state-owned National Buildings Construction Corp as the builder for the proposed building and asked renowned architect Hafiz Contractor to submit three-four models to choose from.

The new media centre was planned after the Press Information Bureau said it was finding it difficult to function out of its present premises at Shastri Bhavan because of the manifold increase in media's requirements over the years.

Among the facilities planned at the centre is a press conference hall with live telecast and online facilities, briefing rooms, film auditorium, audio and video recording studios, editing services, video conferencing and online library.

It will also provide journalists with a modern telecom network, travel booking facilities and other services for uplinking and transmission, officials said.