New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) A spanking new world-class press centre will come up in the capital by late 2012 at a cost of Rs.60 crore.

The Press Information Bureau, the nodal government agency dealing with the media, Monday inked a contract with the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) Ltd for constructing a new National Press Centre in the heart of the capital.

The new National Press Centre will be located at Raisina Road and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. The construction work is likely to begin early April.

The new press centre will have state of the art press conference hall, media briefing rooms, a large work area and lounge for the press, interviewing rooms, a well-stocked library, and editing and other professional facilities.

It will replace the existing media centre at Shastri Bhawan that was finding it hard to cope up with the surge in the number of journalists in recent years.