Its really extremely unfortunate...i fear if our very own MAMATA comes into power, don't know whats going to happen to these so many developmental work and the the process of industrilisation that Budhdha has initiated. I am not in favour of any political party but what i felt is that what our CM was trying to do is actually going to be benifical in the long run for WB. I really pray that development projects should not be hampered with the outcome of election.:ohno:

^^When mamta:bash: will come to power,she will invite land loser from singur,nandigram and rajarhat for farming at new town and sector-5:lol:

:cheers:KOLKATA: IT giant Wipro has accepted West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) offer of 50 acres of land at Rajarhat at Rs
1.5 crore an acre, though Infosys is yet to respond to the offer.

State housing minister :nuts:Gautam Deb, who is Hidco's chairman, said on Saturday that the land will be formally handed over to Wipro next month. "Wipro has accepted our offer and we will hand them the land by next month. We are in touch with Wipro chief Azim Premji and a date for a meeting with him and the state government will be fixed in the next three-four days," Deb said.

Deb, however, said the other IT giant, Infosys:ohno:, is yet to respond to Hidco's offer. Infosys, incidentally, has also been promised 50 acres at Rajarhat at the same price.

Hidco managing director Saurabh Das said that an offer letter will soon be sent to Wipro. "We had communicated to Wipro on the land price and they have accepted the offer. We will complete the process of handing over the land to them soon," he said.

Hidco's board met on Wednesday and decided to fix the price of land at Rs 1.5 crore an acre the price offered to TCS for the 50-acre plots offered to Wipro and Infosys in Rajarhat's Action Area III.

After the Vedic Village scam, following which the much-touted IT hub project adjacent to the spot was scrapped, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee himself decided to offer 45 acre each to Wipro and Infosys at Rajarhat, later increased to 50 acres. Both plots are located in Hatishala mouza and lie off Rajarhat's arterial road, leading to the airport. "The land has been fully acquired by us," said a Hidco official.

Source:Times of india,15/11/2009.

its really a good news. I think Infosys will folow suit.:)

its really a good news. I think Infosys will folow suit.:)

^^not without doing some "nakhras". they normally do that. Since they do not have a presence yet, they will be a bit conservative given the political situation here.

Awesome news!! Finally Rajarhat is back in track! Can someone mark the area in Wikimapia and what is the arterial road-airport connection being talked about near wipro. Will it link Rajarhat to the airport independently bypassing VIP road??

:cheers:KOLKATA: IT giant Wipro has accepted West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) offer of 50 acres of land at Rajarhat at Rs
1.5 crore an acre, though Infosys is yet to respond to the offer.

State housing minister :nuts:Gautam Deb, who is Hidco's chairman, said on Saturday that the land will be formally handed over to Wipro next month. "Wipro has accepted our offer and we will hand them the land by next month. We are in touch with Wipro chief Azim Premji and a date for a meeting with him and the state government will be fixed in the next three-four days," Deb said.

Deb, however, said the other IT giant, Infosys:ohno:, is yet to respond to Hidco's offer. Infosys, incidentally, has also been promised 50 acres at Rajarhat at the same price.

Hidco managing director Saurabh Das said that an offer letter will soon be sent to Wipro. "We had communicated to Wipro on the land price and they have accepted the offer. We will complete the process of handing over the land to them soon," he said.

Hidco's board met on Wednesday and decided to fix the price of land at Rs 1.5 crore an acre the price offered to TCS for the 50-acre plots offered to Wipro and Infosys in Rajarhat's Action Area III.

After the Vedic Village scam, following which the much-touted IT hub project adjacent to the spot was scrapped, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee himself decided to offer 45 acre each to Wipro and Infosys at Rajarhat, later increased to 50 acres. Both plots are located in Hatishala mouza and lie off Rajarhat's arterial road, leading to the airport. "The land has been fully acquired by us," said a Hidco official.

Source:Times of india,15/11/2009.

:banana: wow.....really great news. hopefully Wipro will start construction soon. The IT scenario has changed a lot for the last few months. and Infy should also follow the same route as Wipro. But there is always a difference between should and would.....
thanks Highrise-kolkata..:applause: its really a sigh of relief for our CM and the rest of us to some extent.

:cheers:KOLKATA: IT giant Wipro has accepted West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) offer of 50 acres of land at Rajarhat at Rs
1.5 crore an acre, though Infosys is yet to respond to the offer.

State housing minister :nuts:Gautam Deb, who is Hidco's chairman, said on Saturday that the land will be formally handed over to Wipro next month. "Wipro has accepted our offer and we will hand them the land by next month. We are in touch with Wipro chief Azim Premji and a date for a meeting with him and the state government will be fixed in the next three-four days," Deb said.

Deb, however, said the other IT giant, Infosys:ohno:, is yet to respond to Hidco's offer. Infosys, incidentally, has also been promised 50 acres at Rajarhat at the same price.

Hidco managing director Saurabh Das said that an offer letter will soon be sent to Wipro. "We had communicated to Wipro on the land price and they have accepted the offer. We will complete the process of handing over the land to them soon," he said.

Hidco's board met on Wednesday and decided to fix the price of land at Rs 1.5 crore an acre the price offered to TCS for the 50-acre plots offered to Wipro and Infosys in Rajarhat's Action Area III.

After the Vedic Village scam, following which the much-touted IT hub project adjacent to the spot was scrapped, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee himself decided to offer 45 acre each to Wipro and Infosys at Rajarhat, later increased to 50 acres. Both plots are located in Hatishala mouza and lie off Rajarhat's arterial road, leading to the airport. "The land has been fully acquired by us," said a Hidco official.

Source:Times of india,15/11/2009.

Cool, something to dance about finally. So here goes: :banana:

A new hospitality address near the airport promises more cheer for the city’s struggling hotel trade, after a couple of star properties launched in Rajarhat recently sought to buck the downtrend.

Neer Kalagram, a “boutique concept hospitality project embedded in Bengal’s arts, crafts and culture”, is set to unveil a 70-key resort hotel alongside a crafts village near the airport at Donnagar, Madhyamgram, in two years.

“We want to showcase traditional arts of Bengal with a contemporary twist. Our project aims to promote village tourism alongside generating employment and economic activities in the area,” said Aditya Poddar, the chairman of Wellside Hotels & Resorts Pvt Ltd, the company developing the project.

The same group has done the Rs 280-crore restoration of Sir Rajendra Nath Mookerjee’s century-old manor at 7 Ho Chi Minh Sarani, “probably the first heritage house to be conserved as a boutique heritage hotel in eastern India”.

The niche resort-cum-crafts village planned next to the airport, the second “back-to-nature” hospitality format on the city’s fringes after the controversy-scarred Vedic Village, will come up on six acres and is targeting primarily overseas tourists and airline crew.

“Our concept is ‘to live in art is the art of living’ and we are looking at a modest rack rate of Rs 3,500 per room night. The project is awaiting land conversion clearance, and we have been assured by Mr Mollah (state land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah) of an expeditious order,” added Poddar, who divides his time between Singapore and Calcutta.:ohno:

The Wellside rural resort-hotel project has been concept-designed by architect Dharmesh Jadeja of Buildaur, a unit of Auroville Foundation, and will be “executed by local villagers, using more than 95 per cent indigenous material”, said officials of the company which had engaged Singapore-based Arc Studio for the Mookerjee-residence conservation.

“It’s always a commendable concept to try and promote traditional rural arts of Bengal and if local villagers are empowered, it could work for the community. I believe the group’s application for land-use conversion is being looked into,” said Vinod Kumar, the district magistrate of North 24-Parganas.

The Rs 50-crore (minus land cost) Neer Kalagram plans to rotate the artisans and also foster performing arts of Bengal in its crafts village, in tie-up with the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre. The F&B spread will be predominantly traditional Bengali cuisine and the in-house health spa will use indigenous Bengal therapies.

“The hospitality industry in general is still in the throes of the slowdown, since corporate houses continue to cut travel budget. However, a niche format like this might just work, more so with foreigners as Vedic Village has proved,” said an industry expert.

The Wellside top brass is keen to hard-sell its “soul of Bengal” project to an international audience by showcasing it at ITB Berlin, the world’s largest tourism trade fair, and also at forums like the World Trade Mart in London.

ALSO ON THE CARDS....
323-key five-star hotel in Rajarhat.

Five-star hotel atop City Centre 2

100-room hotel near Gariahat


Source:The telegraph,16/11/2009

some good news after so long.. :cool:

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8882/53789302.jpg

though i have no clue about its progress neither i know how tall it is...can anyone update me on dis?

Source: Google

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8882/53789302.jpg

though i have no clue about its progress neither i know how tall it is...can anyone update me on dis?

Source: Google

^^thanks for reminding us. This design was posted several months ago. There is some construction happening near the existing kitchen appliances factory in Sector V, but not sure if this is the one.

how far is the progress of nagerbazar and dunlop flyover?

Twenty new surface transport corporation buses are going to be introduced in Rajarhat to improve the dismal transport system of New Town. The state transport department has taken this decision after a request from the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco). The buses will ply from New Town to different places of Salt Lake.
Hidco managing director Saurabh Das said that more such buses will be introduced in New Town in phases. “In the first phase, these 20 new buses will ply between New Town and Salt Lake. We have discussed the issue with the state transport department and there are plans to extend the services across the city in phases,” Das said.
There have been complaints from the residents of New Town for a long time that Hidco was not developing the transport system of the area. Residents mostly have to depend on their own vehicles to move along. There is still no bus service for New Town residents to reach VIP Road directly by the Rajarhat main arterial road. Also, there is only a very few bus routes from New Town that moves along the city.
The authorities were working to inaugurate the first permanent bus terminus in Action Area-I. According to plans, New Town will have at least five bus terminuses of international standards and several taxi stands for an effective road transport system.
Along side introducing more buses services, authorities were working on plans to install more electronic traffic signaling system, zebra crossings and installing railings on both sides of the road. “We would be discussing the matter with the police and traffic engineers to set up the system,” an official said.
The state transport department is introducing new buses in the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme (JNNURM). Out of the 1200 buses that would be brought, so far only some hundred buses have been introduced. Many of these buses may ply on Rajarhat also.:banana::banana:

State IT minister Debesh Das on Friday said the land being vacated by Satyam at Sector V may be used by Webel for creating plug-andplay space for the benefit of tech companies, but did not clarify whether the government company would undertake the initiative on its own.
“Let us get it back first....putting up infrastructure is a possibility,” the minister told TOI, when asked what the government intended to do with the 2.77-acre plot that Satyam has decided to return. Sources said the ex-Satyam land would come in most handy for Webel as the latter could utilise the space for putting up nearly 700,000 sq ft either on its own or through an alliance with a private partner. The comparatively flexible building rules at Sector V would come in handy in this regard, they added.
However, the sources could not confirm whether Webel has already sounded out any developers or started work on drawing up modalities for expressions of interest (EoIs) from prospective partners. They also could not give indications of a likely project cost. Back of the envelope calculations, though, suggested that it could exceed Rs 100 crore.
Webel MD Tamal Dasgupta could not be reached for comment. Incidentally, Webel also has plans to put up IT parks on excess land lying around with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), and a plot that Genpact had returned earlier.
Earlier this week, STPI Kolkata head Manjeet Nayak had said that the proposed Webel-STPI-private developer combine would establish a facility that would have anywhere between 700,000 and 800,000 sq ft. It is possible that at least 500,000 sq ft could come up on the ex-Genpact land.
Creation of more infrastructure at Sector V and Rajarhat is imperative for the state as barring a few exceptions, the greater majority of companies have been reluctant to set up a presence outside Kolkata. Satyam had been given land when the company was still under the Rajus. The firm had originally intended to employ 2000 associates at Sector V.

Source: TOI

I did read the news about CG planning to take up 2L sqft several months back. The pace of construction in Infospace is slow so I am not sure when that whole space wil be utilized.

RMZ Ecospace is supposed to be having the back office for HDFC and also Mcnealy and Thysenkrupp ( or something similar ). This is one project where construction is going on pretty fast.

Regarding SP Infocity it is news to me, construction seems to have just started and I am not sure of any takers for the space.
Hi everybody,
I am new to this thread.In
http://www.in.capgemini.com/locations/
It shows
Capgemini India Pvt. Ltd.
Unitech Hi-Tech Structure Limited, Special Economic Zone-IT/ITES
Plot No.1, Block DH,
New Town, Rajarhat, Dist- North 24 Parganas
Kolkata-700 156, West Bengal (India)

Flyover on Salt Lake bypass
photo copyright - arijeetb

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/9577/saltlakebypassflyover.jpg

Flyover on Salt Lake bypass
photo copyright - arijeetb

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/9577/saltlakebypassflyover.jpg

It seems that work is still left.......it mi8 tek abt 3-4mnths mre...:)

can sum1 tell what is status of the foll buildngs?
have they been shelved or they will come up some day?

Kolkata Office Tower
http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/4004/09zztalltowerbig.jpg

World Bengal Tower
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2494/c07vn6.jpg

Vedic Hotels
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5853/28193427xm7.jpg

the last one's under construction..
its Shrishti Corp's hotel in New town..
baaki do recession ke shikar ho gaye hain..

Flyover on Salt Lake bypass
photo copyright - arijeetb

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/9577/saltlakebypassflyover.jpg

Great update Arijeet. :cheers:

It seems that work is still left.......it mi8 tek abt 3-4mnths mre...:)

Another 2 Months probably..

Double Dhamaka............

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7881/92971610.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/i/92971610.jpg/)

1st IT park???

1st IT park???

First IT Park made by the Kolkata Municipality
u can say its a govt property......rest IT Parks are made by Private builders

oh that ways..

Calcutta police’s traffic diversion plan for the construction of a ramp on the AJC Bose Road flyover went horribly wrong on Day 1 with congestion on the substitute routes spilling over to other thoroughfares in town.

Commuters suffered all day as buses, minibuses and cars crawled through the arteries despite a large contingent of traffic police being deployed along the bottleneck stretch of AJC Bose Road, starting from the intersection with Rawdon Street.

“This is only the first day, and we had expected some of these problems. Things can go wrong when something new is implemented. Wait for a few days and everything should fall into place,” said Dilip Banerjee, the deputy commissioner of traffic police.

Work on the 425-metre ramp, taking off from a spot close to the AJC Bose Road-Theatre Road crossing, was postponed twice last year. According to engineers of Howrah River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC), which is implementing the project, it would take them at least a year to complete the north-bound ramp at the Beckbagan end of the flyover.

“Forget a year, this traffic plan won’t work even for a week. I wanted to reach Kala Mandir from the Exide crossing and was forced into a long-winding diversion through Rawdon Street, Park Street, AJC Bose Road and then turn in from Theatre Road. How much more ridiculous can this get?” wondered Lopamudra Sen, stranded along with her two-year-old son.

Motorists complained about the lack of signage to guide them through the diversion routes. Boards mentioning the alternative routes were put up but they were so small that drivers at the wheel would have had to stop and stare for a few minutes to read the instructions. Most relied on the police personnel on duty to show them the way.

“Couldn’t they have figured out that nobody would be able to read the small signs while driving?” asked a company official getting late for work.

Schoolchildren, mostly students of the La Martiniere schools, spent extra time in their school buses and those taking taxis to office had to pay more as vehicles heading towards Park Circus down AJC Bose Road ran into the traffic stream turning right towards Exide from Moulali.

Congestion soon spread to the Chowringhee intersection, Moulali and the seven-point Park Circus crossing, and the cops threw up their hands in despair.

“For commuters stranded in the chaos zone on Tuesday, the most worrying part was that the police were clueless about how to handle the pressure that was building up every hour,” said a businessman who has an office on AJC Bose Road.

The police had diverted all Salt Lake and New Town-bound buses down the AJC Bose Road flyover along with smaller vehicles, which is said to have compounded the chaos. With a large stretch of Lenin Sarani unable to take the load, buses heading for Sealdah from Esplanade had to be diverted down Ganesh Chandra Avenue to Nirmal Chandra Street before hitting Lenin Sarani to reach Moulali.

“You can’t dig out alternative routes; so this traffic diversion plan will have to be followed. We are arranging for bigger display boards to ensure that everyone notices and manages to read the instructions. These boards should be ready by Wednesday,” said deputy commissioner Banerjee.

The Rs 28-crore ramp on the Beckbagan side is meant to maximise the use of the city’s longest flyover. The ramp will stand on 12 pillars but work has begun on just four. “Piling will begin in another three weeks,” said Sadhan Banerjee, the vice-chairman of HRBC.

Source: The Telegraph

That huge ad for the four lane bridge is a bit too much.I have been over that bridge almost six months back,its hardly 100 feet long!.Well then progress is progress.

Is there any update on IT hub in kalyani? Last heard only one party is interested in setting up infrastructure there some months ago.

Is there any update on IT hub in kalyani? Last heard only one party is interested in setting up infrastructure there some months ago.
Land acquisition is already a major problem in greater kolkata area. This is the high time for WB govt to search for alternate places like Kalyani, Durgapur, Haldia, Siliguri etc. Few times back saw some news about the proposed development in this regard but till now nothing concrete came up. Govt should concentrate on exploiting tier - II cities in bengal rather than fighting for land in kolkata and then eventually scrapping up the project. It would really help employing local educated youth and speed up the process of industrilization.

The information technology (IT) sector in Bengal, which started in Calcutta and later forayed into Siliguri and Durgapur, is eyeing another destination in the state — Kharagpur.

IBM Daksh, the BPO arm of IBM, has expressed an interest in setting up a facility in Kharagpur, state IT minister Debesh Das said on Wednesday. IBM Daksh could not be reached for comment on the matter.

“IBM Daksh wants to open shop in Kharagpur and has asked for 2 acres there. We will soon start the process of acquiring land:horse: in Kharagpur,” Das said on Wednesday at the stone laying ceremony of an IT park behind Science City.

The proposed IT park, to be developed by Webel and the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC), will come up on a 2-acre plot at an investment of Rs 40 crore. It is expected to be completed within 15 months from the date of start of construction:ohno:, which is yet to be decided.

“We hope the locational advantage will ensure tenants for the IT park,” Das said.

“The proposed IT zone will employ 2,500 people directly and 10,000 indirectly once it becomes fully operational,” state commerce and industry minister Nirupam Sen said on the occasion.

Webel and the CMC entered into an agreement last month to execute the project. Each will make an initial investment of Rs 5 crore.

The land will be provided by the CMC from the 5 acres it had received from Science City.
Source:The telegraph.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3702/dhunseriitpark.jpg

Picture source:www.agrawalarchitects.com

The dhuneseri group will start construction on the first phase of IT park at bantala on the frings of kolkata next month,"dhanuka said"Our intention is to do this project on our own,without the help of any partner:ohno:,he added.Nearly 360,000 sq,ft of built up space would come up in the first phase.

When complete,Dhuneseri IT facility would have close to 720,000 sq ft of plug and play infrastructure for use by tech companies.

The group has taken up six acres of land within an IT sez promoted by jagmohan dalmiya adjoining the calcutta leather complex.It had been mentioned earlier that the Dhuneseri IT has the potential to generate over 7000 jobs when fully occupied and envisages a project cost upwards of Rs 100 crore.

SOUrce: Times of india,19/11/2009

The authority responsible for the upkeep of the city’s tech hub has convened a meeting of companies operating at Sector V on December 4 to apprise them of the draft document, being readied, on the payment of water user charge by infotech firms.
“Apart from IT companies, representatives of Selvel and Enkon (responsible for the beautification of the area) would also take part in the interactions where we will give them details of the draft document and elicit their suggestions on the issue,” Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) chairman S A Ahmed said on Wednesday.
“We hope to sign the tripartite deal with IT companies and JUSCO on the money to be paid as user charge for water by February 2010, if not earlier. The agreement would be with each individual entity and not any association of firms,” he added.
The development and management of water distribution and a sewerage system at Sector V is being undertaken on a BOT basis. The project is being implemented by Nabadiganta Water Management Ltd (a SPV formed by JUSCO & Voltas). The project is expected to be completed by March.
“As long as the charge is kept reasonable, IT firms should have no problem. I would rather pay and get good water instead of not paying and not be sure of the quality,” the head of a BPO said.

Source: TOI

Photo cc SarafIndian

An u/c commercial building at Saltlake. Near Stadium
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5685/14112009001s.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/7008/14112009.jpg

An u/c at Sec-V
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3779/07112009ad.jpg

You can see the Bengal Ambuja project near Highland Park.
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/4286/13112009001s.jpg

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/3343/13112009.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3702/dhunseriitpark.jpg

Picture source:www.agrawalarchitects.com

The dhuneseri group will start construction on the first phase of IT park at bantala on the frings of kolkata next month,"dhanuka said"Our intention is to do this project on our own,without the help of any partner:ohno:,he added.Nearly 360,000 sq,ft of built up space would come up in the first phase.

When complete,Dhuneseri IT facility would have close to 720,000 sq ft of plug and play infrastructure for use by tech companies.

The group has taken up six acres of land within an IT sez promoted by jagmohan dalmiya adjoining the calcutta leather complex.It had been mentioned earlier that the Dhuneseri IT has the potential to generate over 7000 jobs when fully occupied and envisages a project cost upwards of Rs 100 crore.

SOUrce: Times of india,19/11/2009
oh...nice update. :banana: please post if u have any update of the construction (if at all it started).

[QUOTE=SarafIndian;46466897]Photo cc SarafIndian

An u/c at Sec-V
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3779/07112009ad.jpg

^^Nice updates, Saraf. I have always wondered what this building was. It is G+15 storeys and standing on a very small parcel of land.

Heritage Blends With Need For Speed

TOE epaper

Eighteen months from now, the city can finally zoom on the much-awaited Vivekananda Road flyover. Construction began this week — with a slight change in plan. Realigned, the 2.3-km flyover will connect Girish Park with Howrah Bridge and, with a ramp, give access to the ready-to-be-rejuvenated 180-year-old Mint on Strand Road.

The two-lane flyover will go a long way in improving north
Kolkata's connectivity. Its access to the Mint complex, with multi-level car parks, will help ease the parking chaos in that part of the city. The project will cost Rs 153 crore (sanctioned in September 2008).

Pre-construction piling for the speedway started on Monday.

[QUOTE=SarafIndian;46466897]Photo cc SarafIndian

An u/c at Sec-V
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3779/07112009ad.jpg

^^Nice updates, Saraf. I have always wondered what this building was. It is G+15 storeys and standing on a very small parcel of land.


Can't see the picture

Development Consultant Head office

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/4725/dchq.jpg (http://img691.imageshack.us/i/dchq.jpg/)

Source: DCPL website

This has already been constructed.

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/9391/dscp.pnghttp://http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/9391/dscp.pngThis has already been constructed.

Yes,it is near karunamayee.

The KMDA has planned to throw open the Wipro Flyover to traffic from this Christmas.
To add color to this they are planning to run a vote for chosing the correct color for the flyover depending on the no of votes a particular color wins......these colors would be given on their website which opens for poll this monday....also it would ask to vote for the decor.....viz, a green strech, an art gallery or a shopping centre....this will be done to stop encroachments and parking under the flyovers.
If this sceme becomes successful then this would be also implemented for the Ultadanga Flyover...:cheers:

(C): TOI

Formal offer letter to Wipro



The state government has written to Wipro offering contiguous plots spread across 50 acres in New Town “at a concessional price” to set up the company’s second campus in Bengal.

“We sent the letter on November 18 and are waiting for Wipro to confirm officially,” IT minister Debesh Das told Metro on Friday at a programme organised by the city chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs.

“We have offered the land at Rs 1.5 crore per acre, which was fixed after discussions with Wipro officials,” Das added.

On October 30, a Wipro team inspected the plots earmarked for the proposed facility in Action Area III, near the Shapoorji Pallonji Mass Housing project, and met officials of Hidco, which owns the land in New Town, and requested for 50 acres at a reduced price.

“We had unofficially discussed the offer with Wipro and they were okay with it. The official letter has been sent. Now we will have to wait for the transactions to begin,” said a senior Hidco official on Friday.

Wipro officials declined comment.

Price has been a stumbling block in the deal, with Hidco initially not willing to accept less than Rs 2.16 crore per acre.

Infosys, which had also expressed interest to set up a facility in Bengal in 2004, recently deferred its plans.

A few months back, the chief executive officer and managing director of Infosys, S. Gopalakrishnan (Kris), had said the company wanted to “wait” and did not require “any more land for any new infrastructure at the moment”.

source: The Telegraph 21.11.2009

The KMDA has planned to throw open the Wipro Flyover to traffic from this Christmas.
To add color to this they are planning to run a vote for chosing the correct color for the flyover depending on the no of votes a particular color wins......these colors would be given on their website which opens for poll this monday....also it would ask to vote for the decor.....viz, a green strech, an art gallery or a shopping centre....this will be done to stop encroachments and parking under the flyovers.
If this sceme becomes successful then this would be also implemented for the Ultadanga Flyover...:cheers:

(C): TOI

It is never too late. They should think of something innovative to move the squatters from under Gariahat & AJC Bose flyover too. Landscapping and barricading should work.

I was also thinking that they can utilize the space below the Salt lake flyover for parking ( which is already a menace in Sector V). If they can move the mess caused by wipro pool cabs from the side street to below the flyover it can free up the street

Heritage Blends With Need For Speed

TOE epaper

2-lane? :bash:

Did they have no intention of applying innovation and make it 4-lane in case space crunch was the issue? This is a call for permanent damage since once the flyover is built not much can be really changed!:ohno:

It is never too late. They should think of something innovative to move the squatters from under Gariahat & AJC Bose flyover too.

Squatters are there only because political parties and policemen encourage and back them for votebank and money respectively. The citizens are generally indifferent because they think nothing can be done and sometimes also feel sympathetic towards the squatters. Removing squatters is going to be difficult because NGOs and intellectuals will oppose such a move because of political and ideological reasons (and maybe to get some TV time).

2-lane? :bash:

Did they have no intention of applying innovation and make it 4-lane in case space crunch was the issue? This is a call for permanent damage since once the flyover is built not much can be really changed!:ohno:

A 2 lane flyover may not be of much use. Wonder whether this is because of non availability of space.

2-lane? :bash:

Did they have no intention of applying innovation and make it 4-lane in case space crunch was the issue? This is a call for permanent damage since once the flyover is built not much can be really changed!:ohno:

^^ I agree, there is some shortsightedness in this plan. There could be many reasons though I am guessing lack of funds to cover the whole length from Howrah bridge to Central avenue and lack of road width of vivekananda road could be the main reasons.

In my opinion a better plan would be that instead of splitting it into phases 1 and 2 they should have built one main flyover from Howrah bridge to ultadanga/VIP road and entry and exit ramps at key intersections( something that is now being done for AJC bose flyover)

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4285/hotela.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/i/hotela.jpg/)

Source: The Telegraph

Wats d use of having a flyover and that too 2 laned:bash:.....either the engineers that are hired have fake degrees.....or they have not designed any flyover.....:ohno:

This is what has happened at Cognizant - Bantala.

As some of you may be aware that the infrastructure has been done by Larsen & Toubro - ECC - Chennai.

From what has surfaced from close interactions with the Cognizant technical team, it seems Larsen & Toubro being the main contractor was given the responsibility to choose the vendor for providing purified air within the Cognizant building. Now, anyone might be swayed by the L&T brand, but the truth is that entity too is nothing but a plain irresponsible profit house.

It seems L&T went ahead with a run-of-the-mill air handling unit manufacturer with no prior experience of air purification. Now, why had L&T done this, well, no one knows. Either L&T did not receive the required remunerations from Cognizant or did not like the proposals given by the experts in this sector ..... ? Don't think personally, that L&T knows anything of this air purification line, without which it is next to IMPOSSIBLE to operate out of Bantala due to the extremely high levels of corrosive gas presence like hydrogen sulphide emitted from the tanneries.

Not only there is an odour problem, but the major issue which Cognizant is bound to face would be that of computer circuit CORROSION.

It seems, the inexperienced company selected by L&T has not been able to install the equipments till date, HENCE Cognizant has delayed the opening at Bantala..............



For quite some time now, local authorities have been tom-tomming the impending launch of software giant Cognizant’s operations at Bantala and how this would provide a fillip to the stuttering IT sector in the state.
But as things appear at the moment, any movement in this regard appears unlikely before the Pujas, unless, of course, the company chooses to opt for a largely ceremonial launch later this month to coincide with the festivities.
“The first phase of Cognizant’s techno-complex in Bantala is nearly ready. We are waiting for the promised waste management plan to be implemented. We are in discussions with the administration to resolve this issue on a priority basis so that we can start fullfledged operations in Bantala,” a company spokesperson said, when asked about the issue.
Cognizant has taken up 20 acres at the IT SEZ developed by Cricket Association of Bengal president Jagmohan Dalmiya’s construction firm M L Dalmiya & Company on land carved out of the Calcutta Leather Complex in Bantala. In the past, the firm had indicated that it intended to hire nearly 4,000 professionals at this facility.
“The commerce and industries department is looking into the matter. The waste management issue should hopefully be resolved in October. It is possible that Cognizant may decide to shift some of their staff to Bantala only after this happens,” state IT minister Debesh Das said. “Cognizant has not given us an indication on the likely timeframe within which it wishes to start (at Bantala).”

Source: TOI

Calcutta, Nov. 21: Seventy-eight investors have approached an arbiter for permission to exit a commercial complex being built by DLF in Rajarhat.

The eagerness to pull out is in sharp contrast with the haste with which some of them had put in money without reading the fine print and reflects the dramatic fall in the fortunes of real estate projects over the past one and a half years.

The 78 investors have sought their money back from India’s largest real estate developer, which is building the retail-cum-office complex named DLF Galleria.

The investors have filed the demand with the sub-divisional officer of North 24-Parganas, the designated person under the Promoters Act to deal with such real estate disputes. A hearing is expected on Tuesday.

The investors alleged that the project was running behind schedule but added that the prospectus did not mention a specific time frame.

“The project has made little progress. DLF must pay us back with interest,” said Rajendra Kapoor, who has formed an association of investors.

Kapoor said 22 more individual complaints would be filed on Monday and a hearing could take place on Tuesday.

A DLF spokesperson denied the allegation made by the investors. “We have all the approvals in place, construction at the site is in full swing and we are committed to deliver the project on schedule as promised,” the spokesperson added.

Anirudh Jharjharia, another investor, claimed that around Rs 100 crore had been forked out by 223 people for the project. The association represents an investment of Rs 30 crore, he said.

Asked why the prospectus was not checked with diligence, Jharjharia said: “There was so much hype in the real estate market during the soft launch in February 2008. And the developer was the reputable DLF. So everyone rushed in,” he said.

Realty sources said the price crash in the intervening months had buried the hopes of the investors to make a profit.

Kapoor said that if DLF returned the money, the amount would help him buy 80 per cent of a similar property in Rajarhat.

Source:The telegraph November 22,2009

The second of the box bridges connecting to Salt lake bypass (near Nicco park) is now open to traffic

photo copyright -arijeetb

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8122/saltlakeboxbridge01.jpg

Bengal Shriram Sonar Bangla Integrated Township, Uttarapara

http://www.bengalshriram.com/

The second of the box bridges connecting to Salt lake bypass (near Nicco park) is now open to traffic

photo copyright -arijeetb

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8122/saltlakeboxbridge01.jpg

Is this the one which was earlier known as Lohapool...or the small bridge connecting sec-3 wid nicco park, just opp to nicco park.....or is it the new bridge which was been constructed at nicco park Xing, opp bowler's den???

Is this the one which was earlier known as Lohapool...or the small bridge connecting sec-3 wid nicco park, just opp to nicco park.....or is it the new bridge which was been constructed at nicco park Xing, opp bowler's den???

This bridge looks nice and fresh but can't the designers get over those concrete railings. They can use the one used in the flyovers. Wouldn't it look better?

Is this the one which was earlier known as Lohapool...or the small bridge connecting sec-3 wid nicco park, just opp to nicco park.....or is it the new bridge which was been constructed at nicco park Xing, opp bowler's den???

^^it is a new bridge connecting to Salt lake bypass from sector 3 near nicco park

The second of the box bridges connecting to Salt lake bypass (near Nicco park) is now open to traffic

photo copyright -arijeetb

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8122/saltlakeboxbridge01.jpg

Nice photo man. :cheers: The first bridge they opened just few months back is not in very good condition(the road condition). Hope they maintain this one..

Nice photo man. :cheers: The first bridge they opened just few months back is not in very good condition(the road condition). Hope they maintain this one..

yeah, I know. It opened just before the rains and the rains look out the upper layer within a month or so. Shoddy work by the municipal body:nuts: The patch work they have done will wear off by the next monsoon.

What is the status of rajarhat action area 2, can anyone please tell me what's happening to individual plots and when they are planning to handover ?

Nabadiganta Flyover survey

http://www.kmdaonline.org/kmda/survey/index.html

yeah, I know. It opened just before the rains and the rains look out the upper layer within a month or so. Shoddy work by the municipal body:nuts: The patch work they have done will wear off by the next monsoon.

The usual corruption and non governance at play.

What is the status of rajarhat action area 2, can anyone please tell me what's happening to individual plots and when they are planning to handover ?

http://www.wbhidcoltd.com/notice/possession_notice.htm

Nabadiganta Flyover survey

http://www.kmdaonline.org/kmda/survey/index.html

Great. Nice work by kmda..:cheers:

I choose this. Can you guys show your selections too?
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/4594/wiproflyovercolor1.jpg

The patch work they have done will wear off by the next monsoon.

Man !!!! You should be a little more understanding.
If they do a stable work, how will they make a perennial / annual source of earning after every monsoon?

These types of misgovernance and loot are typical of the last 30 years of left front Rule.

Firstly they start the project much late.
( Vivekananda Road Flyover and ramps for the AJC Bose road flyovers are quick examples. I think another 2 classic examples will be the 4 Km flyover in Park Circus and the Jadavpur Police station flyovers which they couldnt even start even after multiple rounds of official discussions in the last 1 year)

Starting a project late has its own advantage. The cost shoots up and you have a bigger amount of officially sanctioned money to plunder.

Secondly they will create a messy construction so that they can make an annual income from the repair work.

Sometimes the construction is so messy that they flyover itself crumbles down within a few years. Remember Baghajatin flyover? It took more than a year for them to repair.

The expansion of the Baghajatin flyover is also going on for the last 1 year and they are yet to complete the construction of the flyover fully which is only around 600m in length.

Man !!!! You should be a little more understanding.
If they do a stable work, how will they make a perennial / annual source of earning after every monsoon?

These types of misgovernance and loot are typical of the last 30 years of left front Rule.

Good point on the misgovernance - but not just the left front. Apart from Delhi, in most other states too. Unfortunately, this is widespread, no?

Man !!!! You should be a little more understanding.
If they do a stable work, how will they make a perennial / annual source of earning after every monsoon?

These types of misgovernance and loot are typical of the last 30 years of left front Rule.

Firstly they start the project much late.
( Vivekananda Road Flyover and ramps for the AJC Bose road flyovers are quick examples. I think another 2 classic examples will be the 4 Km flyover in Park Circus and the Jadavpur Police station flyovers which they couldnt even start even after multiple rounds of official discussions in the last 1 year)

Starting a project late has its own advantage. The cost shoots up and you have a bigger amount of officially sanctioned money to plunder.

Secondly they will create a messy construction so that they can make an annual income from the repair work.

Sometimes the construction is so messy that they flyover itself crumbles down within a few years. Remember Baghajatin flyover? It took more than a year for them to repair.

The expansion of the Baghajatin flyover is also going on for the last 1 year and they are yet to complete the construction of the flyover fully which is only around 600m in length.

^^ More public money to plunder as costs shoot up probably is widespread across the country and not just this region. Bagha jatin flyover did not lay any pillar as yet ( i am talking of about 1.5 months back):bash: Vivekananda & Park circus flyovers and the two ramps on AJC flyover are being built with JNNURM money so they do not have much choice but to try to complete on time.

Great. Nice work by kmda..:cheers:

I choose this. Can you guys show your selections too?


My submission

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2379/wiproflyover.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/wiproflyover.jpg/)

My submission for Nabadiganta flyover painting

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2077/kmda.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/i/kmda.jpg/)

My submission

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2379/wiproflyover.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/wiproflyover.jpg/)

hey..
mine too :)

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/2209/26112009021010.jpghttp://img267.imageshack.us/img267/4458/26112009024005.jpg

Neotia plans in near future:

The city’s organised pharmacy space is set to get more crowded, with the Harsh Neotia-led Ambuja Realty Group planning to throw its hat into a ring currently dominated by the likes of Dhanwantari, Emami and Apollo.
But that’s not all. As part of its increasing focus on its healthcare business, the diversified group also intends to establish medical clinics to create additional revenue streams in this largely recession-proof segment.
On Wednesday, Neotia said Ambuja Realty pharmacies under the ‘Getwel Pharma’ banner would occupy about 400-500 sq ft, with the initial ones coming up at the group’s existing hospital on Park Street, Garia and City Centre - II in New Town, Rajarhat. The number of such outlets would be expanded to cater to all possible catchments in course of time.
The ‘outreach centres’ would carry the ‘Neotia Mediplus’ branding and the first few are also slated for Garia and City Centre-II. As with the pharmacies, the plan being put in place envisages the establishment of such clinics at all places where opportunities exist.
Neotia said the decision to establish pharmacies, and the medical clinics, particularly, followed the belief that these could act as good referral points not just for the group’s existing hospital, but also the tertiary hospital it intends to set up in the city in future for which land has already been identified. Incidentally, the group has ambitions of establishing a 200-bed hospital in Siliguri, too.
Neotia, though, did not spell out the cost involved in putting up the pharmacies and medical clinics. He also did not elaborate on whether the bulk of the space necessary for these facilities would be taken on lease or owned by the company.
“Over the next 4-5-years, we intend to put in place 2.5 million sq ft of commercial space at Rajarhat and Salt Lake itself,” Neotia said, pointing out, however, that this included the 0.5 million sq ft taken up by the first phase of the group’s IT park at Rajarhat. “Once we are through with the ‘Ecospace’ IT venture in Rajarhat, we will focus on a commercial complex project on another 5-acre plot nearby. We also have two properties in Salt Lake Sector V that we can capitalise on,” he added.
On the residential realty front, Neotia said the group is scouting for land near Kolkata for this purpose. Putting up ‘affordable housing’ (apartments priced in the Rs 10-12 lakh bracket) formed part of the agenda. “Both Ujaas (the proposed condoville off VIP Road) and Upohar (a similar venture off the Bypass) would be completed in 2011. Delivery of some of the apartments at Upohar, though, will start next year,” he added.
Outlining plans for the other businesses, Neotia said the group was still “waiting and watching” the situation in the hills and had not made up its mind yet on when it would start work on the intended resort in Sikkim. A mall at Patna, for which land has already been bought, would be in place in 2012. “The group revenue this year would be upwards of Rs 300 crore while planned investments, to be funded in a 50:50 ratio between equity and debt, are worth Rs 700-800 crore,” he added.

Source: TOI

My submission

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2379/wiproflyover.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/wiproflyover.jpg/)


What have u given for the utilization under the bridge part?

My submission for Nabadiganta flyover painting

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/2077/kmda.jpg (http://img517.imageshack.us/i/kmda.jpg/)

What have u given for the utilization under the bridge part?

Check out my choice at the link given below:

http://www.kmdaonline.org/kmda/survey/index.html

^^that link takes you to the main page and not your choice..

How did you guys save the file as JPEG/GIF? I was unable to do so.

Anyway, my choice is the same as rupakd for the upper section and a darker shade for the pillars.

The reason is to strike a contrast to the sober wipro buildings across the road.
The choice of space is "GREEN ZONE".

But my preference would be organized parking ( along the lines of Gariahat flyover).

How did you guys save the file as JPEG/GIF? I was unable to do so.

Take a print screen, paste it in MS Paint and cut/copy the image area and then save it.

Great selections guys. I tried my selection as per the Bengal Ambuja City Centre style. That color combination(orange+grey) suits kolkata a lot I think.. :)

What have u given for the utilization under the bridge part?

Green Zone.

Sun.

I picked the inversed colors. Blue carraige way & grey pillars. close enuf I say.

My submission

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2379/wiproflyover.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/wiproflyover.jpg/)

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7761/minem.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/i/minem.jpg/)

This is my choice.

Kolkata: Finally, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is ready to give land to ITC for its long-overdue food processing unit. The latter had been scouting for land in Bengal for the last three years.
West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), which is engaged in catalyzing investment for the state, is set to hand over around 18 acres to ITC Limited at Amraberia, off Uluberia. The proposed investment is to the tune of around Rs 400 crore and the unit would mainly cater to the ITC snacks line, Bingo.
ITC, the biggest corporate house in the state with a turnover of over Rs 16,000 crore, has been expressing disappointment time and again over the non-availability of land. Only in July, this year, ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar had publicly reiterated that his company was unable to start its food processing business thanks to the state government’s “failure”.
The chairman’s displeasure had become clear a number of times earlier (he had announced to shift the project to Orissa), but in the July AGM, he spelt it out all the more: “We are the biggest corporate house in the state. ITC has always stuck to Bengal even though some big corporate houses left the state. We want to invest in the state, but can’t.”
The company was especially disappointed because its proposed food processing hub at Sankrail hit a dead end thanks to land dispute. ITC had first announced its decision to set up the unit near National Highway 6 in 2006, seeking to buy 40 acres from WBIDC. The latter has finally been able to put some plots together behind the 35 acres allotted to Mahabharat Motors for its ancillary units at Howrah.
An official at Writers’ Buildings said, “As the 40 acres provided at Sankrail ended up in legal disputes, ITC could not be given possession of the land. This (providing land at Amraberia) is the next best thing the government could have done. ITC has already paid the advance to WBIDC. This will be a face-saving exercise on the part of the chief minister.” The official added, “It’s difficult to assemble 40 acres near the city and ITC understands our constraints.”
At the AGM last July, Deveshwar had said, “We have the money and the intention to invest (in Bengal), but we can’t. Our chief minister had taken special initiative to arrange for the land. He wants us to invest in Bengal and so we will.”
Sources said WBIDC was readying to clinch the agreement with ITC in the next one or two weeks.
For obvious reasons, ITC is keeping its fingers crossed. A spokesperson said: “We choose not to give our official comment until we sign the formal agreement.”

Source TOI

Kolkata: Finally, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is ready to give land to ITC for its long-overdue food processing unit. The latter had been scouting for land in Bengal for the last three years.
West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), which is engaged in catalyzing investment for the state, is set to hand over around 18 acres to ITC Limited at Amraberia, off Uluberia. The proposed investment is to the tune of around Rs 400 crore and the unit would mainly cater to the ITC snacks line, Bingo.
ITC, the biggest corporate house in the state with a turnover of over Rs 16,000 crore, has been expressing disappointment time and again over the non-availability of land. Only in July, this year, ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar had publicly reiterated that his company was unable to start its food processing business thanks to the state government’s “failure”.
The chairman’s displeasure had become clear a number of times earlier (he had announced to shift the project to Orissa), but in the July AGM, he spelt it out all the more: “We are the biggest corporate house in the state. ITC has always stuck to Bengal even though some big corporate houses left the state. We want to invest in the state, but can’t.”
The company was especially disappointed because its proposed food processing hub at Sankrail hit a dead end thanks to land dispute. ITC had first announced its decision to set up the unit near National Highway 6 in 2006, seeking to buy 40 acres from WBIDC. The latter has finally been able to put some plots together behind the 35 acres allotted to Mahabharat Motors for its ancillary units at Howrah.
An official at Writers’ Buildings said, “As the 40 acres provided at Sankrail ended up in legal disputes, ITC could not be given possession of the land. This (providing land at Amraberia) is the next best thing the government could have done. ITC has already paid the advance to WBIDC. This will be a face-saving exercise on the part of the chief minister.” The official added, “It’s difficult to assemble 40 acres near the city and ITC understands our constraints.”
At the AGM last July, Deveshwar had said, “We have the money and the intention to invest (in Bengal), but we can’t. Our chief minister had taken special initiative to arrange for the land. He wants us to invest in Bengal and so we will.”
Sources said WBIDC was readying to clinch the agreement with ITC in the next one or two weeks.
For obvious reasons, ITC is keeping its fingers crossed. A spokesperson said: “We choose not to give our official comment until we sign the formal agreement.”

Source TOI

:)

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Hi Guys......Today I saw some construction work is going on within the boundary of ITC Sonar Bangla......But I am not sure whether this construction is related to ITC Sonar II........Do you have any idea???
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don't live there so no idea :ohno:

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7761/minem.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/i/minem.jpg/)

This is my choice.

mine too 4 d space utilization bt the clr is diff......:)

my clr choice are:
body clr is d 2nd clr optn and pier clr is the 10th clr optn :)

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Hi Guys......Today I saw some construction work is going on within the boundary of ITC Sonar Bangla......But I am not sure whether this construction is related to ITC Sonar II........Do you have any idea???
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^^Will take a look next time I pass around the area. ITC expressed their keenness to add to the five star room count even at the peak of the global recession and post singur fallout, so I would be glad if they are planning to start construction now.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5011/flyover.jpg

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5011/flyover.jpg

Finally! The design has changed several times - and this ("D" rotary) looks to be the best suited for the traffic conditions. The "left ramp exit" over Congress exhibition down crossing Syed Amr Ali avenue and terminating before the "up ramp" of AJC bose flyover is just apt for central and southbound vehicles:banana:

The only spoiler was the word "railways" needing to construct the small stretch but I am hoping that is not a hard dependency on this project since they have obtained approval to demolish the old bridge no.4

^^
when i read this today morning.......i was simly stunned n overwhelmed

i thought that this flyover will just be like the AJC bose flyover with no ramps and will strt after 7-point crossing and end just before science city
but the plan given here is just too good

i think they will have a tramp directly from AJC bose road flyover to the new flyover....
then two ramps @ 7-point crossing
and a final ramp @ science city, so that cars from park circus can directly move towards RUBY without crossing d PARAMA ISLAND crossing

i think this multi-ramp idea is very important.......else it would have been another unplanned multi-crore project....

also if u see the JNNURM site, the havesaid that the target is tocomplete it by 2015
dont u all think 2 years is just being too optimistic?????
the are taking 1-year to build a small ramp....................

yet...am very happy as ol kolkata people should be

:banana: ....wow...oflate really some good news for Kolkata. ITC food processing unit, these flyovers.....good to see. hopefully things will not get delayed and get completed on time.

Great :cheers:.. So do we have an interchange at Parama??

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/5011/flyover.jpg

Great :cheers:.. So do we have an interchange at Parama??

It is an elevated rotary at Parama island

Videocon IT Park, Sector V - U/C
photo cc arijeetb

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5566/videocon01.jpg

AA1, New Town
photo cc arijeetb

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7339/aa101.jpg

EM Bypass/VIP Road flyover - U/C
photo cc arijeetb

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/144/ultadangaflyover02.jpg

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3537/ultadangaflyover03.jpg

Nice updates ArijeetB.

wow...great update arijeet:applause:. BTW can u tell the location of the Videocon IT park??

Outotec India toes LNM line, to set up hub in city



Rakhi Mazumdar KOLKATA




OUTOTEC Oyj, a metallurgical and mineral processing company formed by the merger of the technology arms of Finnish stainless steel major Outokumpu Oy and Lurgi Metallurgie of Germany, has decided to invest in a dedicated engineering and design consultancy in the country.
In step, Outotec India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the 1.2-billion-euro Outotec, will serve as a host of domestic and global clients based out of Kolkata.
Outotec’s move comes after ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, recently set up a similar engineering and design facility in the city. The Outotec arm will cater to new and existing projects across the spectrum in the metals sector and also serve the company’s global client base.
“We are planning to focus on the engineering needs of upcoming and existing plants in ferrous and non-ferrous metals in India. At the same time, we will also work on overseas projects for our parent company,” Virendra Kaul, MD, Outotec India, told ET.
In particular, Outotec India will focus on the business of providing engineering services for pellet and sinter plants in steel projects, in line with its core strengths.
Outotec India plans to initially start out with an employee base of 80 and is planning to scale up to 350, depending on the market.
At present, it is working on projects for the Vedanta Group at
its project site at Lanjigarh and Jharsuguda in Orissa, at Tata Steel for its pellet plant and for Hindustan Zinc. It is also pitching for upcoming greenfield projects being set up by Bhushan Steel in Orissa and JSW Bengal Steel in West Bengal. It is also putting up sinter plants for Tata Steel, JSW Group and JSPL.
“Outotec specialises in largesize pellet plants, globally. In India, we have received a number of inquiries for smaller-size pellet plants. In step, we are planning to standardise technology for smaller pellet plants with capacities in the range of 1.2-2 million tonnes,” Mr Kaul said.
Based out of Espoo, a Helsinki suburb, Outotec services span across four divisions, which include metal processing, mineral processing, base metals like copper, zinc, lead, nickel and precious metals and sales and aftermarket service.
Outotec India will serve as the support office to all these divisions and in execution of projects that include construction supervision, commissioning projects, procurement support and global outsourcing for equipment.
Globally, Outotec is in the process of acquiring Larox, another Finnish engineering company that develops, designs and manufactures industrial filters for mining and metallurgy industries.
Incidentally, Larox already has a subsidiary in India for sales and after-market services based out of Bangalore.

Great updates Arijeet...........Nice to see that Videocon IT Park is taking its shape..........Thanks a lot:banana:

wow...great update arijeet:applause:. BTW can u tell the location of the Videocon IT park??

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=46278821&postcount=2761

http://wikimapia.org/222014/Videocon-IT-Park-u-c

great updates arijeet :cheers:
AA1 looks good as of now :)

Read in Hindu that Mamata met a bunch of industrialists for setting up of an automobile hub in Shalimar.
Anybody having any update on that?

Thanks, guys:cheers:

Read in Hindu that Mamata met a bunch of industrialists for setting up of an automobile hub in Shalimar.
Anybody having any update on that?


yeah..and according to media she talked and meant only "business". Not sure why there is so much media attention...how much volumes can you achieve on 4.5 acres of land

Outotec India toes LNM line, to set up hub in city



Rakhi Mazumdar KOLKATA




OUTOTEC Oyj, a metallurgical and mineral processing company formed by the merger of the technology arms of Finnish stainless steel major Outokumpu Oy and Lurgi Metallurgie of Germany, has decided to invest in a dedicated engineering and design consultancy in the country.
In step, Outotec India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the 1.2-billion-euro Outotec, will serve as a host of domestic and global clients based out of Kolkata.
Outotec’s move comes after ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, recently set up a similar engineering and design facility in the city. The Outotec arm will cater to new and existing projects across the spectrum in the metals sector and also serve the company’s global client base.
“We are planning to focus on the engineering needs of upcoming and existing plants in ferrous and non-ferrous metals in India. At the same time, we will also work on overseas projects for our parent company,” Virendra Kaul, MD, Outotec India, told ET.
In particular, Outotec India will focus on the business of providing engineering services for pellet and sinter plants in steel projects, in line with its core strengths.
Outotec India plans to initially start out with an employee base of 80 and is planning to scale up to 350, depending on the market.
At present, it is working on projects for the Vedanta Group at
its project site at Lanjigarh and Jharsuguda in Orissa, at Tata Steel for its pellet plant and for Hindustan Zinc. It is also pitching for upcoming greenfield projects being set up by Bhushan Steel in Orissa and JSW Bengal Steel in West Bengal. It is also putting up sinter plants for Tata Steel, JSW Group and JSPL.
“Outotec specialises in largesize pellet plants, globally. In India, we have received a number of inquiries for smaller-size pellet plants. In step, we are planning to standardise technology for smaller pellet plants with capacities in the range of 1.2-2 million tonnes,” Mr Kaul said.
Based out of Espoo, a Helsinki suburb, Outotec services span across four divisions, which include metal processing, mineral processing, base metals like copper, zinc, lead, nickel and precious metals and sales and aftermarket service.
Outotec India will serve as the support office to all these divisions and in execution of projects that include construction supervision, commissioning projects, procurement support and global outsourcing for equipment.
Globally, Outotec is in the process of acquiring Larox, another Finnish engineering company that develops, designs and manufactures industrial filters for mining and metallurgy industries.
Incidentally, Larox already has a subsidiary in India for sales and after-market services based out of Bangalore.

^^Good news. According the "South City projects" website they are operating out of "Pinnacle" IT park in Sector V

During Pujo,this year.
[Scroll if needed]
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_z-ovNZhBUDc/SsDpdoWSUjI/AAAAAAAAHZE/uCiwPAqeIeg/IMG_3634.JPG

Original Source:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/view?orderby=date&psc=G&uname=ysandhuz&q=rajarhat&filter=1#5386561849591484978

yeah..and according to media she talked and meant only "business". Not sure why there is so much media attention...how much volumes can you achieve on 4.5 acres of land

Not sure why the media is making this sound like a big thing. Maybe the term "auto hub" is confusing them.

Miss Mamata and her goons threw out the Tata Nano factory from West Bengal. This has caused immense harm to West Bengal's industrialization efforts.

Now she is giving 4.5 acres of land to import the same Tata Nanos into West Bengal!

How ironic!

Yet the Kolkata based media seems to be lapping up every moment of Mamata madness as being "industry friendly".

She is announcing all kinds of wagon factories and I can bet not a single one will be built in her reign as railway minister. Note that the land she gave for the auto hub was actually planned to be Shalimar station building during Madhav Rao Scindia's era. That's how things happen in Indian Railways slow, slow and super slow and sometimes never.

She has announced stadums, auditoriums, hospitals, prizes for intellectuals and all sorts of things that the Railways should not be getting involved in. The Railways are spending lots of money in bringing Mamata's singer friends to inaugural functions.

Shouldn't the railways concentrate on safety, modern coaches, more suburban trains, electrification, modernization of tracks?

Mamata has made many new Railway committees and appointed her intelletcual friends to head those committees at high salaries and perks. What will these committees really do? Nothing is the track record of existing committees is seen. The organization Swajan (of self declared intellectuals) has really become an example of Swajan Poshon.

Anyway whatever little comes out of Mamata's jhola is better than nothing happening at all.

Not sure why the media is making this sound like a big thing. Maybe the term "auto hub" is confusing them.

Miss Mamata and her goons threw out the Tata Nano factory from West Bengal. This has caused immense harm to West Bengal's industrialization efforts.

Now she is giving 4.5 acres of land to import the same Tata Nanos into West Bengal!

How ironic!

Yet the Kolkata based media seems to be lapping up every moment of Mamata madness as being "industry friendly".

She is announcing all kinds of wagon factories and I can bet not a single one will be built in her reign as railway minister. Note that the land she gave for the auto hub was actually planned to be Shalimar station building during Madhav Rao Scindia's era. That's how things happen in Indian Railways slow, slow and super slow and sometimes never.

She has announced stadums, auditoriums, hospitals, prizes for intellectuals and all sorts of things that the Railways should not be getting involved in. The Railways are spending lots of money in bringing Mamata's singer friends to inaugural functions.

Shouldn't the railways concentrate on safety, modern coaches, more suburban trains, electrification, modernization of tracks?

Mamata has made many new Railway committees and appointed her intelletcual friends to head those committees at high salaries and perks. What will these committees really do? Nothing is the track record of existing committees is seen. The organization Swajan (of self declared intellectuals) has really become an example of Swajan Poshon.

Anyway whatever little comes out of Mamata's jhola is better than nothing happening at all.

^^She and her party is feeding on the expectations of the people who voted them to power. With time the incapability of her and her party will be proven.

Actually the problem in West Bengal is that after 32 years of utter stagnation, people have started believing even small announcements. I also think that we are going to get very less outcome from the strings of announcements that Mamata is making.

But she is just playing her cards with 2011 assemble elections in mind .
Her greatest advantage is perhaps that people dont have much expectations from her.

One interesting update
==================

A few days back I had shot a mail to Debesh Das telling him with examples of companies in various fields that have a presence in the southern states and that we need to attract. Can you imagine I didnot even get an acknowledgment mail?

Actually the problem in West Bengal is that after 32 years of utter stagnation, people have started believing even small announcements. I also think that we are going to get very less outcome from the strings of announcements that Mamata is making.

But she is just playing her cards with 2011 assemble elections in mind .
Her greatest advantage is perhaps that people dont have much expectations from her.

One interesting update
==================

A few days back I had shot a mail to Debesh Das telling him with examples of companies in various fields that have a presence in the southern states and that we need to attract. Can you imagine I didnot even get an acknowledgment mail?

^^ The IT scene did not see any new investment for the last 2-2.5 years and that should be tough on him when we kept hearing all those announcements about WB becoming "one of the three" top IT states in the country. It is shocking that large MNCs such as Accenture, HP-EDS etc do not yet have a presence in the state.

^^ The IT scene did not see any new investment for the last 2-2.5 years and that should be tough on him when we kept hearing all those announcements about WB becoming "one of the three" top IT states in the country. It is shocking that large MNCs such as Accenture, HP-EDS etc do not yet have a presence in the state.

Investment will not come to the state easily because of the following perceptions:

1) lazy government workers - see how difficult it is to for them to even come to work on time and leave on time - forget about doing any work properly or on time.
2) non performing ministers and corrupt officers. Fear of imposing the rule of law and doing the duty of the state.
3) Irresponsible opposition
4) a police force that nobody trusts. No rule of law.
5) militant trade unions beating up every one
5) violent political parties - even today the BJP burnt buses and indulged in violence. The CPM and Trinamool are on a killing spree and the Maos are having a free run.
6) Bandh capital of the world - every party and tom dick and harry is indulging in Bandhs, aborodhs and Pratibads.
7) too many ultra left, anti development (self declared) intellectuals who are out of tune with a globalized world and are still sitting in the cold war era.
8) politicized media doing a shoddy job and not keeping the state's interest in mind
9) Too many krishi jomi rokkha committees and other NGOs.
10) The commie tag. The media keeps saying that this is a commie state when actually it is ruled by a party that has a commie name.

You can add more.

I had asked him in the mail that we heard in early 2008 before the onset of recession you had made a trip to silicon valley and got promise from some global giants that they will consider about WB when they will think about opening centres in India. Did u hear anything from them because we are finding global giants like Cisco, Honeywell, VMWare, EMC etc expanding their operations in Bangalore to send more work to India. I had also asked about other non-IT knowledge sectors like Bio-tech, management consulting, legal process outsourcing tc but it seemed he has gone for a prolonged hibernation after offering 50 acres to Wipro.

I had asked him in the mail that we heard in early 2008 before the onset of recession you had made a trip to silicon valley and got promise from some global giants that they will consider about WB when they will think about opening centres in India. Did u hear anything from them because we are finding global giants like Cisco, Honeywell, VMWare, EMC etc expanding their operations in Bangalore to send more work to India. I had also asked about other non-IT knowledge sectors like Bio-tech, management consulting, legal process outsourcing tc but it seemed he has gone for a prolonged hibernation after offering 50 acres to Wipro.

^^And I guess wipro is yet to formally accept the offer? Even if the above mentioned niche companies do not invest in WB, there are those large employment generating companies , both private and MNCs that have have been avoiding Bengal over the past 2-2.5 years. I sometimes wonder what companies will occupy the plush office spaces coming up in New Town and Sector V.

Also come 2011, once TMC comes to power, god knows who will become the next IT minister.

Also come 2011, once TMC comes to power, god knows who will become the next IT minister.

Mamata herself? Apparently she listens to music on her laptop which she carries in her jute jhola.

And apart from the Left Front, Congress, Maoist and Trinamool Congress goondas running amok in the streets of Bengal we have a new kid on the block!

Goondas Find Bengal Haven
BJP bandh rampage reflects Delhi ambitions

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091201/jsp/frontpage/story_11806692.jsp

Bandh-enforcers armed with sticks and rods torched three buses, attacked cars, snatched drivers’ keys and blocked traffic to Calcutta’s IT hub and airport as the Left government, true to its form during recent bandhs, stayed a spectator.

Harming Bengal's IT dreams

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091201/jsp/calcutta/story_11803981.jsp

Minimum effort for maximum impact was Monday’s disruption mantra as the BJP bandh brigade targeted strategic installations and stretches, ranging from the DLF building to the roads to the airport.

Around 8.30am, 50-odd bandh enforcers armed with saffron and green, lathi and brickbat, blocked the mouth of the Rajarhat Expressway to choke traffic bound for IT offices and the airport. They damaged eight vehicles before turning on the DLF building, that houses IBM and more.

“They stopped employees at the gates and smashed the security kiosks at gates 1, 3 and 4. They forcibly closed the gates and demonstrated outside for over 45 minutes,” said security officer Rajat Das.

The morning mayhem ensured a dip in attendance figures at the DLF building and in Sector V. “Such violence targeted at the IT sector was a first and came as a shock. It sends out dangerous signals,” said Kalyan Kar, the managing director of Acclaris.

But the government, guilty of allowing hooligans to run riot, remained in denial. “The sector faced no disruption of work,” Siddharth, the principal secretary of IT.

photo from TOI

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/1346/bjphooligans.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/i/bjphooligans.jpg/)


BJP hooligans get a free run - Govt Sleeps As Armed Mobs Burn Buses, Attack IT Buildings

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Saffron hoodlums ran riot in the city on Monday, burning buses, smashing car windscreens and attacking IT offices in Rajarhat to enforce a 12-hour BJP bandh that no one took seriously. The vandalism in parts of central and north Kolkata and Howrah and on VIP Road went unchecked as the administration looked on.

The saffron brigade had its plan well laid out. They started early to spread panic and to ensure that people stayed at home. Shortly after 6 am, two government buses were set ablaze — one at Kankurgachhi and the other outside Howrah station. Elsewhere in the city, a number of state buses were damaged. The arterial VIP Road was blocked, affecting traffic to and from the airport.

The next target was the IT hub of Salt Lake’s Sector V and Rajarhat. Armed with lathis and iron rods, bandh supporters banged on the gates of IT complexes, smashed glass doors and asked techies to go home. Not a single policeman could be spotted anywhere.

While Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee claimed that the state administration had “aided” the bandh supporters, many said that they had seen dissident Trinamool and Congress workers carry BJP flags and disrupt the flow of traffic at various places. Some claimed to have seen CPM workers as well.

State BJP president Rahul Sinha denied these allegations. “All the bandh supporters were BJP workers. Nearly 3,000 of them were arrested. There have been some excesses, particularly in places like Sector V. We are looking into the matter. Action will be taken against those who got involved in violence,” Sinha said.

Assocham revives plan to open city office

TOI epaper

Apex industry body Assocham — whose initial optimism about opening its first eastern region office in Kolkata had cooled considerably after the Lok Sabha results boomeranged on the Left — has revived plans to establish a permanent presence in the city.

On Monday, Assocham secretary general D S Rawat said the chamber proposes to have its eastern region headquarters operational early next year, with the formal announcement of the address slated to be made by Assocham president Swati Piramal on January 6 at the business summit being organised by the body in the city to regenerate investor interest in Bengal.

So as not to waste time, Assocham would get going from rented premises, with the location being firmed up during a recce mission to be led by Rawat prior to the business conference. “We always take a long-term view and are of the firm belief that Bengal offers enormous scope to companies willing to set up base there. The office is a demonstration of our commitment to the state’s growth,” Rawat said.

Orbit Sky View (http://www.orbitskyview.com/), Northern Avenue, Off BT Road

Four 11 storey buidlings

Render
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/3684/orbitheightskolkata.jpg (http://img194.imageshack.us/i/orbitheightskolkata.jpg/)

construction status here (http://www.orbitskyview.com/construction.php)

Also come 2011, once TMC comes to power, god knows who will become the next IT minister.

may be the quiz master..

may be the quiz master..

Or Madan Mitra? :lol:

all the intellectuals will be hoping to get departments..
that is what they must have been aiming for after they targeted this dumb govt..
but the joke could be on them as Mamta may ditch them and give the ministerial berths to the ppl of Singur ;)

Absolutely right.
I don't know why she is not allowing some small piece of land in Rajarhat for making tower for electricity connection in that area.

Amazing projects in Kalkata. It's great to see such progress.

Absolutely right.
I don't know why she is not allowing some small piece of land in Rajarhat for making tower for electricity connection in that area.

^^she will allow..after elections in 2011.

Winds of change: Presidency College (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_College,_Kolkata)finally getting its freedom from the clutches of the useless communist party politburo and the Calcutta University? Hopefully Buddhababu wins this round. And looks like Miss Mamata had a role to play too in this decision. :lol:


CM defies party on freedom for Presidency

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091202/jsp/frontpage/story_11811558.jsp

In deciding to free Presidency College from state control, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has finally defied his own party.

The chief minister and the CPM had diametrically opposite views on the issue. While he had long favoured the idea of granting autonomy to Presidency College, or otherwise making it an independent institution, the party would not allow any such thing to happen.

Not letting Presidency College to go out of the state’s — and the party’s — control fitted the CPM’s scheme of things for education in Bengal. The party not only wanted to control education in the name of “democratising” it, but also wanted that control to keep “elitists” out and give education over to the mediocre.

The chief minister, himself an alumnus of the college, opposed this policy. He agreed with the general criticism that the deterioration of the academic standards in the college was entirely because of his party’s policies.

He would even remark in close circles that leaders of the college employees’ union, affiliated to his party, were really the men who controlled matters, including transfer of lecturers.

The departure of Anil Biswas, former CPM secretary who died shortly before the 2006 Assembly polls, strengthened the chief minister’s resolve to settle the Presidency College issue. On the eve of these polls, he would talk of granting autonomy to Presidency College along with several other colleges. Biswas, who was also convener of the Left Front’s education cell, saw control over Presidency, as other things in education, only in terms of opportunities to put party loyalists in key positions. The question of academic purity or excellence was, to him, an elitist concept.

In the current political scenario that holds the prospect of the CPM losing power in 2011, Bhattacharjee had another reason for finally taking the decision on Presidency College. Given Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee’s criticism that the CPM has ruined the college and also the possibility that she might give it autonomy if she comes to power, the chief minister was apparently keen to pre-empt her.

He agreed that the Presidency College issue has an emotive appeal to the Bengali middle-class. So better do it now than leave it to be done by Mamata.

Or Madan Mitra? :lol:

Madan might be the Finance Minister.......:nuts::lol:

Just think what will our state coffer be?????????:bash:

Photo cc SarafIndian

An u/c at Sec-V
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/3779/07112009ad.jpg

^^Nice updates, Saraf. I have always wondered what this building was. It is G+15 storeys and standing on a very small parcel of land.

Same building.
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4986/28112009f.jpg

The Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) at Shibpur may soon churn out topgrade doctors apart from engineers. The university has drawn up a Rs 100-crore plan to set up a medical science and technology centre that will include a medical school and a 400-bed state-of-the-art research hospital.
There is a 70-acre vacant plot of land next to the existing Besu campus. “We are waiting for the land to be handed over to us. The problem is we do not have adequate funds to purchase land and I have approached the state government for assistance. If they take up the proposal and acquire land, it will be a dream come true for us as well as the state,” said vice-chancellor Ajay Kumar Roy.
“It will be a research hospital, though most in Kolkata are service hospitals. We plan to open an emergency ward. All facilities will be of international standards,” Roy added.
In the first phase, the university plans to set up a medical science research centre and hospital. The MTech course for medical science and technology would have 20 students. Students with MBBS degrees will be admitted to the course on MD in medical technology. The students will receive a degree from the West Bengal Health University, with whom talks are on.
“Once we set up the hospital and start the MD course, we may think of extending it to MBBS studies later. If the university receives the much-coveted Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST) status, admissions to it can be done through the central selection process,” Roy said.
One of the unique characteristics of the multi-speciality hospital will be to arrange for a telemedicine course. The images of X-ray, ultrasound or the pathological test reports could be sent through telemedicine for the city doctors to examine. This will come as a boon for the villagers across the state.
To begin with, the hospital will have a molecular imaging centre where optical coherent stomography for skin and eye will be done. Other advanced systems of medicare, including MRI and CT Scan, will also be done. In the city, most hospitals offer 16 slize CT scans. BESU wants it to be taken to the latest 64 slize CT scan. Research has shown that every time a human body undergoes a scan, it is exposed to some amount of radiation which is harmful. In case of 64 slize CT Scans, the radiation is minimum and high resolution images are obtained.
Other departments being planned include early diagnostic clinics like radiology, pathology, teleradiology and telepathology, orthopaedics, paediatrics, cardiology, neurology and gynaecology. Medical imaging, medicine and medical engineering apart, research will be conducted on tissue engineering and bio-meterials. The proposed school and hospital will also have a hospital management system in place.

Source: TOI

Town Act may come to rescue of Dhoot SEZ



Sumali Moitra | TNN



Kolkata: The state may fall back on the Town and Country Planning Act to pave the way for work to start at Videocon’s IT SEZ at Jalpaiguri which has run into a jam over the land department objecting to the diversified group holding land in excess of that permitted under local regulations.
The project — conferred ‘formal SEZ status’ by the Board of Approvals (BoA) — is supposed to come up on 25 acres to comply with the minimum land requirement criterion set by the BoA for IT/ITeS SEZs. Land for the venture was provided by the state government which had kept the BoA stipulation in mind while making the allotment.
In October, Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot had been assured by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee that the SEZ-related problem would be sorted out quickly. Construction can’t begin till the project moves beyond the formal SEZ stage to being notified.
Sources said the use of the Town and Country Planning Act would serve the twin purpose of guaranteeing that Videocon could retain the same 25 acres for the proposed SEZ as also enable the government to ensure that its land ceiling norms were not compromised in any way. The role of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority (SJDA) would be most crucial in the matter as it would be the SJDA that would have to invoke the Town Act to facilitate the SEZ.
Although a relaxation of the land ceiling norms would have saved time, doing so could have left the government open to criticism on why an exception has been made for a particular business group. The only worrying aspect is that the project may get even more delayed in the process of securing approvals through the Town Act route.
Incidentally, Videocon has a preliminary understanding in place with local IT park developer Infinity Infotech Parks about the latter acting as ‘co-developer’ of the IT SEZ at Jalpaiguri. However, the ‘co-developer’ status for Infinity needs to be approved by BoA, and an application for this purpose to the designated authority can only be submitted after the land issue is sorted out.
State IT minister Debesh Das said no relaxation of the land ceiling norms were possible as it was a government regulation. “Some other way will have to be found to sort out the issue,” he said, without elaborating further. In October, Dhoot had told this correspondent that Videocon may seek more time from the BoA to acquire land for the other large SEZs proposed by the group in the past.

City to become Outotec S Asia service hub

Udit Prasanna Mukherji | TNN

Kolkata: Outotec India — the wholly-owned subsidiary of Outotec Oyj of Finland — plans to make the city its regional servicing hub for South & South-East Asia. Outotec is one of the global leaders in mineral processing, base metals and metal processing technologies.
The company is also opening an office here — its first
in India — to provide services to local clients. The facility would be inaugurated later this week by the firm’s global CEO Tapani Jarvinen.
Outotec India MD Virendra Kaul said the firm is gradually laying emphasis on the servicing segment along with its core area of project commissioning and plant engineering. Outotec is currently working for Vedanta and Tata Steel on two mega projects in India. “In most cases clients prefer servicing from us and this could be a good revenue stream,” he added.
Kaul said the Kolkata office would be the hub for its activities in India, including servicing. “Later, this office could become the servicing hub for South & South-East Asia.” Currently, Outotec doesn’t have any presence in South & South-East Asia.
It only has offices in Kazakhstan and China in Asia. Outotec was formerly known as Outokumpu Technology, a division of Outokumpu. Outokumpu later divested the technology division to financial institutions and private equities. Now, UBS and Morgan Stanley group hold substantial stakes in the company, along with Finnish institutions.
The company has consolidated its position as the leading technology partner in the mining and metallurgical industry through several acquisitions, including Lurgi Metallurgy and KHD Aluminium Technology in Germany, Lurgi Australia, Nordberg Mills in Norway and Boliden Contech in Sweden.
Elaborating the plan for the Kolkata office, Kaul said it has already hired 35 people for its operations here. “We can hire up to 100 people in the 17,000-sq ft office,” he added. The Outotec India MD indicated that the company is also looking at new areas like coal gasification in India.

^^wonderful news..
long time since the city was chosen to be Head Office for a larger region..

Town Act may come to rescue of Dhoot SEZ


Samit, the above is not about Kolkata. Please post it under the West Bengal projects thread.

:)

Also this is for all forumers:

1) Please don't forget to post the actual hyperlink of the news item or at least the website hyperlink.

2) Also whenever possible, try posting only relevant excerpts rather than the whole news article.

GREENFIELD CITY, Behala

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6394/93674957.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/93674957.jpg/)

No. of Floor : G+4, G+11

No.of Flats : 3992 (approx)

Starting Time : January 2010

Completion Time : Phase Wise 3 years from the date of commencement

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/8043/flyw.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/flyw.jpg/)

Enter, exit ramp. Years after gifting central Kolkata with two flyovers — over AJC Bose Road and the Park Street intersection — the government is planning to add ramps to both flyovers to ease traffic flow in these busy zones.
The exit ramp at the Beckbagan crossing has been much debated. Now, there are further plans for two more ramps — one climbing from Sarat Bose Road on to the AJC bose Road flyover and the other exiting on Mayo Road from the Park
Street flyover.
Though planners insist that the ramps would help disperse traffic from the flyovers with greater ease, state government officials admit that building three ramps years after both the flyovers were built is a classic example of short-sightedness. After all, traffic was thrown haywire when the two flyovers were under construction. Had the ramps, too, been built along with the flyovers, the city would have been spared another long stint of traffic snarls. And, given the authorities’ track record of jumping construction deadlines, no one knows how long it will take them to build these ramps which have been planned at two of the city’s busiest crossings. “The cost of building the ramps would have been much less than what it will be now. The approach to planning should be futuristic. If you construct a long flyover and then realise you need to add ramps to it, it proves to be a drain on public money,” said an official.

Source: TOI

Construction work for a cultural complex at Rawdon Square will begin on 15 December.
A five-storeyed building will be constructed to house a state-of-the-art auditorium with a capacity to accomodate 1200 people, the biggest of its kind in the city. Two smaller auditoriums with a capacity of 500 and 300, respectively, will also be set up.
There will be an office space covering 5,000 square feet. The National School of Drama will have its second campus at the complex. The estimated cost of the project will be Rs 42 crore. Mackintosh Burn, a state government undertaking, has been entrusted with the job. The water body situated at the site will be preserved. The construction of a cultural complex by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation at the site after filling up the pond at end 1980s had sparked off a controversy. The Congress had staged a series of demonstrations and forced the civic authorities to back out. The then mayor Mr Kamal Basu was also criticised. Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who was then the urban development minister, had assured the environmentalists and intellectuals that a cultural complex would come up at Rawdon Square and the water body would be preserved.

Source: The Statesman

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/8043/flyw.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/flyw.jpg/)

Enter, exit ramp. Years after gifting central Kolkata with two flyovers — over AJC Bose Road and the Park Street intersection — the government is planning to add ramps to both flyovers to ease traffic flow in these busy zones.
The exit ramp at the Beckbagan crossing has been much debated. Now, there are further plans for two more ramps — one climbing from Sarat Bose Road on to the AJC bose Road flyover and the other exiting on Mayo Road from the Park
Street flyover.
Though planners insist that the ramps would help disperse traffic from the flyovers with greater ease, state government officials admit that building three ramps years after both the flyovers were built is a classic example of short-sightedness. After all, traffic was thrown haywire when the two flyovers were under construction. Had the ramps, too, been built along with the flyovers, the city would have been spared another long stint of traffic snarls. And, given the authorities’ track record of jumping construction deadlines, no one knows how long it will take them to build these ramps which have been planned at two of the city’s busiest crossings. “The cost of building the ramps would have been much less than what it will be now. The approach to planning should be futuristic. If you construct a long flyover and then realise you need to add ramps to it, it proves to be a drain on public money,” said an official.

Source: TOI

Lets hope that the HRBC guyz have enough fund to carry these ramp works...chances are more that these mi8 get shelved

BTW where is this Rawdon Square????

Lets hope that the HRBC guyz have enough fund to carry these ramp works...chances are more that these mi8 get shelved

^^I would not think so, since these are part funded by the center under JNNURM

^^I would not think so, since these are part funded by the center under JNNURM

Yes only If Centre funds it....:):)

The state is expecting the Centre to fund construction of the ramps under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission scheme. “But if the Centre is not interested, we may build them with our
o w n funds,” said a H o o g h ly River Bridge Commissioners official.

TOI

Be ready 4 seeing spurts of foundation stone laying by both Mamta and CPM as civic polls are coming up......:applause::applause::applause:

BTW where is this Rawdon Square????

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/529/rawdonsquares.jpg (http://img18.imageshack.us/i/rawdonsquares.jpg/)

The East-West Metro project is entering the most crucial phase in its construction — boring of its underground tunnel.
Underground tunnel boring machines will be used for the purpose. Part of the tunnel will be underwater and run across banks of the Hooghly. Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation (KMRC) is now busy selecting two consortiums of construction agencies for the two-package underground work. Six such consortiums have been shortlisted, two of which will be finally awarded the contract.
The state government earlier released Rs 80 crore for the package that would comprise 30% of the Rs 4,676-crore Metro project. KMRC has got funds for package I from both Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), which is the project’s principal funding agency that will foot 45% of the construction cost, and the Centre, which will bear 25% of the project cost.
A major stretch of the 13.77-km-long East-West Metro corridor will be underground. Those who went through a nightmarish experience when many buildings — particularly along Central Avenue — developed cracks during construction of the north-south corridor can rest in peace. During construction of the East-West Metro tunnel, there would hardly be any trouble on the surface, thanks to the tunnel-boring method. Traffic on the surface, too, would not be disturbed, claimed a senior Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) official.
The construction of the tunnel, specially the underwater stretch, is going to be a technological challenge. The tunnel will be constructed by tunnel-boring machines, which will be re-assembled in Howrah from where a vertical tunnel will be bored.
The machine’s control chamber will be inside it and the operator and other personnel can sit in it (the chamber). A tunnelboring machine (TBM) consists of one or two shields (large metal cylinders) and trailing support mechanisms. At the front end of the shield is a rotating cutting wheel. Behind the cutting wheel is a chamber where, depending on the type of TBM, the excavated soil is either mixed with slurry or left as it is. The choice of the type of TBM to be used depends on soil conditions.
Depending on the type of TBM, muck will either fall into a conveyor belt system and be carried out of the tunnel or be mixed with slurry and pumped back to the tunnel’s entrance. The dug-out soil will, initially, be dumped at the Howrah Maidan. Later, the soil will be transported to fill up lowlying areas of Rajarhat township.
A TBM acts like an earthworm. The rear section of the TBM is braced against the tunnel walls and used to push the TBM’s head forward. At maximum extension, the TBM’s head is then braced against the tunnel walls and the TBM’s rear is dragged forward. The cutting wheel will rotate at 1 to 10 rpm (depending on size and stratum), excavating soil. Depending on rock strata and tunnel requirements, the tunnel may be cased or lined. The pre-cast concrete sections will be jacked into place as the TBM moves forward.
The diameter of each of the East-West Metro’s tunnel will be 5.2 metre (internal). The stations will be around 13 metre below the road surface. However, KMRC will construct the elevated portion (5.77 km) first as it (the elevated portion) will be constructed primarily on government land.
The tunnel will start from Howrah station and move to BBD Bag via Brabourne Road and from Bowbazar to Sealdah via BB Ganguly Street. From Sealdah, the tunnel will move further to Phoolbagan via Narkeldanga Main Road. Near Swabhumi, the Metro will rise to the surface and move on an elevated track that will run along EM Bypass. It will move to Salt Lake’s Central Park via Sector V, Karunamoyee and Bikash Bhavan.

Source: TOI

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may get a face-to-face opportunity to explain the state’s keenness to promote the IT industry to Wipro chairman Azim Premji on Thursday in case the latter chooses to attend a board meeting of the Reserve Bank of India slated to be held here on December 10. Premji is a member of the apex bank’s central board.
The tech baron has generally made it a point to meet Bhattacharjee — whom he had dubbed the country’s best chief minister some years back — whenever he is in town. Last December, too, the two had interacted at Writers’ Buildings
when Premji had been here in connection with a similar RBI board meeting.
Provided the meeting takes place on Thursday, it would be the first that the two have held so far this year. The CM, though, had spoken to Premji after the scrapping of the Kolkata IT Links project created some uncertainty about the proposed second campus of Wipro that was to come up there.
Contacted for a confirmation of a likely Premji-Buddha meeting, principal secretary to the CM, Subesh Das, said: “I can’t speak on this”. State IT minister Debesh Das also said that he wouldn’t like to discuss the issue as he was unsure about Premji actually coming to the city on Thursday.
Incidentally, it is still unclear when Wipro would be physically handed over land for its second campus at Rajarhat. Wipro is India’s thirdbiggest software company.

Source: TOI

Godrej JV in city bucks slowdown

Godrej Waterside Properties (GWPL) — the joint venture between Godrej and city-based Infinity Infotech Parks — has bucked the slowdown and registered over 80% booking of commercial space in the first phase of the tech park it is setting up in Salt Lake’s Sector V.
Incidentally, the Godrej Group is executing two commercial projects at Salt Lake through associate firms Godrej Developers and GWPL. Godrej Developers is a JV between Godrej and Simoco Telecommunication.
Godrej Properties ED and Adi Godrej’s son Pirojsha Godrej said that GWPL has already tied up customers for 3 lakh sq ft in the first phase. “Only 40,000 sq ft of space in the first phase is yet to be booked. This is really encouraging considering the fact that there was a slowdown in the economy even a few months back,” he said. Godrej was in Kolkata in connection with the initial public offering (IPO) of Godrej Properties.


Group eyes hospital biz

Godrej Group has initiated discussions with leading hospital groups in the country for setting up hospitals in the northern fringes of the city as part of its Godrej Prakriti project. Godrej said these would come up in the area designated for commercial activities.

Source: TOI

Godrej JV in city bucks slowdown

Godrej Waterside Properties (GWPL) — the joint venture between Godrej and city-based Infinity Infotech Parks — has bucked the slowdown and registered over 80% booking of commercial space in the first phase of the tech park it is setting up in Salt Lake’s Sector V.
Incidentally, the Godrej Group is executing two commercial projects at Salt Lake through associate firms Godrej Developers and GWPL. Godrej Developers is a JV between Godrej and Simoco Telecommunication.
Godrej Properties ED and Adi Godrej’s son Pirojsha Godrej said that GWPL has already tied up customers for 3 lakh sq ft in the first phase. “Only 40,000 sq ft of space in the first phase is yet to be booked. This is really encouraging considering the fact that there was a slowdown in the economy even a few months back,” he said. Godrej was in Kolkata in connection with the initial public offering (IPO) of Godrej Properties.


Group eyes hospital biz

Godrej Group has initiated discussions with leading hospital groups in the country for setting up hospitals in the northern fringes of the city as part of its Godrej Prakriti project. Godrej said these would come up in the area designated for commercial activities.

Source: TOI

:banana:I am curious to know who the occupants of Godrej waterside would be. Hopefully it will be some new IT/ITES companies venturing into Kolkata

IISWBM initiated the first programme of management education in India in 1953. Good to see it expanding.

IISWBM to invest Rs 150 cr

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/iiswbm-to-invest-rs-150-cr/379063/

Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM) is looking at investing close to Rs 150 crore in setting up two new campuses in Salt Lake and Rajarhat.

S N Ray, director, IISWBM, said, “We have got 3 acres from the government for a campus in Rajarhat. Our Rajarhat campus would be our international hub where we are looking at international affiliation and collaboration as well as research in social sciences.”

The institute’s Salt Lake campus, on the other hand, would be the institute’s ‘national’ hub, where IISWBM intends to build a full-time, residential campus.

While IISWBM would offer MBA, MHRM and MPSM courses at its Salt Lake campus, its Rajarhat campus is looking at extensive teaching and research in social sciences besides international collaboration.

"We had once thought of a deemed university status but later opted out. We are affiliated to Calcutta University and would stick to it," added Ray.

TCS buys office space in Rajarhat IT SEZ

TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s biggest software company in terms of sales, has just taken a whopping 2.5 lakh square feet (sq ft) of prime office space in Rajarhat at the upmarket Infospace IT SEZ which has been developed by leading realty firm, the Unitech Group. Close to 2,800 TCS-ers will be working out of the new IT complex in six months from now. This will be TCS’ eighth software facility in Kolkata.
Confirming the development, a senior TCS executive said: “It’s true we’ve just acquired 2.5 lakh sq ft of prime floor space on long term lease at the new Unitech IT park in Rajarhat. The move is part of TCS’ expansion plans in the east. Over 2,800 IT professionals will be able to work in the new facility.”
When contacted by ET, a Unitech spokesperson confirmed the deal but refused to give deal details citing “confidentiality reasons”. Even TCS declined to share the commercials of the lease arrangement with Unitech Group.
The development comes at a time when TCS’ Kolkata headcount is already in excess of 10,000 and growing constantly. More importantly, the company’s seven existing facilities in the city are bursting at the seams. And with its own 40-acre software campus at Rajarhat still in the design stage, TCS has, for a while, been on the lookout for new office space in the Salt Lake-Rajarhat tech corridor.
At present, TCS teams in Kolkata handle IT service projects across major industry verticals for a host of international clients. The verticals handled in the eastern region encompass BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), telecom, energy and utilities, retail and hi-tech.
“The TCS team that will work at the Infospace IT SEZ could work on a mix of verticals that are currently handled out of Kolkata. But there’s no decision yet on how many TCS-ers will be relocated to the new complex from the company’s existing facilities or what percentage of the crew will comprise fresh recruits. These decisions will be taken closer to the rollout date,” said a TCS spokesperson.
Incidentally, Infospace IT park will offer about 4.5 million sq ft of commercial office space spread over 50 acres. In its website, Unitech Group states that the entire land parcel will be developed in six phases. Construction work for phase I has already commenced. Apart from TCS, Genpact and Capegemini, several other IT majors are looking to take up space in this commercial project.
In so far as TCS’ own 40 acre software campus in Rajarhat goes, Tata Realty Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL) — the real estate arm of the Tata group — has been roped in to develop it.
TRIL has been given the mandate to execute the Rajarhat software campus over the next 24-odd months. At least 15,000 professionals will be able to operate out of that proposed facility two years from now.

Source :TOI

great news..
seems ironic though considering the political instability in the state in the recent times..
great news nevertheless..

btw this is from the Tata-realty website


Development of IT SEZs for TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) at 8 locations all over India – Hinjewadi, Trivandrum, Kochi, Ahemdabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Nagpur and Mangalore. TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) to be the anchor tenant.

oh...great update SamitB.
It is really a breath of fresh air, though i feel the situation is not that bad as a certain section of bengali media is trying to potray. Had the opposition been a bit responsible the situation could have been far more bright.

TCS buys office space in Rajarhat IT SEZ

TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s biggest software company in terms of sales, has just taken a whopping 2.5 lakh square feet (sq ft) of prime office space in Rajarhat at the upmarket Infospace IT SEZ which has been developed by leading realty firm, the Unitech Group. Close to 2,800 TCS-ers will be working out of the new IT complex in six months from now. This will be TCS’ eighth software facility in Kolkata.
Confirming the development, a senior TCS executive said: “It’s true we’ve just acquired 2.5 lakh sq ft of prime floor space on long term lease at the new Unitech IT park in Rajarhat. The move is part of TCS’ expansion plans in the east. Over 2,800 IT professionals will be able to work in the new facility.”
When contacted by ET, a Unitech spokesperson confirmed the deal but refused to give deal details citing “confidentiality reasons”. Even TCS declined to share the commercials of the lease arrangement with Unitech Group.
The development comes at a time when TCS’ Kolkata headcount is already in excess of 10,000 and growing constantly. More importantly, the company’s seven existing facilities in the city are bursting at the seams. And with its own 40-acre software campus at Rajarhat still in the design stage, TCS has, for a while, been on the lookout for new office space in the Salt Lake-Rajarhat tech corridor.
At present, TCS teams in Kolkata handle IT service projects across major industry verticals for a host of international clients. The verticals handled in the eastern region encompass BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), telecom, energy and utilities, retail and hi-tech.
“The TCS team that will work at the Infospace IT SEZ could work on a mix of verticals that are currently handled out of Kolkata. But there’s no decision yet on how many TCS-ers will be relocated to the new complex from the company’s existing facilities or what percentage of the crew will comprise fresh recruits. These decisions will be taken closer to the rollout date,” said a TCS spokesperson.
Incidentally, Infospace IT park will offer about 4.5 million sq ft of commercial office space spread over 50 acres. In its website, Unitech Group states that the entire land parcel will be developed in six phases. Construction work for phase I has already commenced. Apart from TCS, Genpact and Capegemini, several other IT majors are looking to take up space in this commercial project.
In so far as TCS’ own 40 acre software campus in Rajarhat goes, Tata Realty Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL) — the real estate arm of the Tata group — has been roped in to develop it.
TRIL has been given the mandate to execute the Rajarhat software campus over the next 24-odd months. At least 15,000 professionals will be able to operate out of that proposed facility two years from now.

Source :TOI

^^great update, Samit:cheers: With two buildings operational, I have seen 2 more that is nearing completion and another two in early-mid stages of construction. I am guessing TCS would be taking up these. Glad that TCS does not have the mindset of a Infy or a wipro and are open to operating out of leased out space.

Infy and wipro people are conservative when it comes to taking up space in an IT complex..
no other company seems to have that problem..
even the global IT majors..
Adobe, Microsoft, Google they all have leased out space..
but then again..
its their (infy's and wipro's) decision..

Infy and wipro people are conservative when it comes to taking up space in an IT complex..
no other company seems to have that problem..
even the global IT majors..
Adobe, Microsoft, Google they all have leased out space..
but then again..
its their (infy's and wipro's) decision..

^^yes, and hopefully the wait for Wipro has come to an end as per this news
Wipro settles land deal with West Bengal for second unit (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/software/Wipro-settles-land-deal-with-West-Bengal-for-second-unit/articleshow/5323991.cms)

KOLKATA: IT giant Wipro on Thursday settled the land issue with the West Bengal government for its second unit near Kolkata and would buy 50

Chairman of Wipro Azim Premji after meeting Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee here, said, "We have settled the land issue with the government."

The land price was fixed at Rs 1.5 crore per acre. Both Wipro and Infosys were earlier provided land at West Bengal's much-touted IT township called Vedic village, but the project was scrapped after it ran into controversy.

Later, both Wipro and Infosys were offered alternate land in New Town in Rajarhat near the metropolis but Infosys is yet to respond to the offer.

Wipro is already running a BPO and technology centre at Salt Lake sector five.

Premji said that work on the project would start in 18 months

^^ Great. Couple of good news. Good to hear about TCS at Unitech. Wherever tcs goes it takes almost 60-70% of the space(ex-BIPL/Omega). I think they will take a major portion of infospace. :cheers:

Infy and Wipro are not confident enough that they can run the IT business in future,so they take up more land to do real-estate business in future.

Work At Rajarhat To Start in 18 Months; Facility May Employ At Least 15K

Call it the perfect recovery pill for a state doddering on the industrialisation front. An investment promise of over Rs 1,000 crore, and more importantly, jobs for at least 15,000 professionals at technology major Wipro’s second campus in the city.
Slightly over three months after the state’s credentials suffered a body blow with the forced abortment of the Kolkata IT Links project, Wipro on Thursday lifted the uncertainty surrounding its latest centre here by openly proclaiming that it was perfectly happy with the alternative land that has been arranged for it at Rajarhat, and would start work by mid-2011.
Befitting its bullishness, the message to ramp up presence in Bengal was delivered by its chairman Azim Premji during a meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee — whom the IT baron had once labelled India’s best CM — and later corroborated in the form of an official statement from Wipro. The firm, India’s third biggest software company, employs close to 7,000 at its existing centre in Salt Lake’s Sector V, and intends to raise this figure to 8,500 shortly.
“We appreciate the support we have received from the state government and we will start work in about 18 months. The area is getting ready,” the normally reticent Premji told reporters after the interaction with the CM. Wipro is likely to pay Rs 1.5 crore per acre for the 50-acre plot that has been allotted to it at Rajarhat.
Premji — who also attended a board meeting of the Reserve Bank of India here — visited the Rajarhat site on Thursday accompanied by officials of the state’s IT and housing departments. Incidentally, TCS (India’s biggest tech firm) had also paid Rs 1.5 crore per acre for land at Rajarhat some years back for setting up an SEZ on a 40-acre plot. Both Wipro and Infosys had originally been promised 90 acres each at the Kolkata IT Links project site.
Interestingly, Wipro’s land request for the Sector V facility was one of the first files that Bhattacharjee had cleared after first taking over as chief minister. The CM had also personally spoken to Premji after the Kolkata IT Links fiasco to assure him that the government would ensure that Wipro’s expansion plans did not awry.
“The decision of Wipro to go for its second campus in Kolkata even at this time of downturn proves the state’s potential in IT. The government is committed to continue with its drive for development and industries,” state IT minister Debesh Das said in a separate press release issued by his department. The minister, however, did not wish to comment on the likely employment that would be generated by Wipro at its second centre. “Wipro is roughly adding 500 people per acre at Sector V. Even assuming that they reduce intake to 300 per acre at Rajarhat, we are still talking of 15,000 additional jobs from the company in the city,” sources said. “As for investments, it is normally pegged at Rs 20 crore per acre on infrastructure alone, and that too outside Sector V, where it is higher. Thus, infrastructure investment on Rajarhat should come to Rs 1,000 crore at the minimum,” they added.

Bullish On Bengal

Existing Sector V centre employs 7000 plus. Headcount may be scaled up to 8500
Rajarhat facility may accommodate 15000 with investment pegged at Rs 1000 crore
Work at the latest campus to start in 2011

Source: TOI

The Kolkata office space market is expected to see a resurrection in demand in the later part of 2010, thanks to a gradual revival of tenant interest, especially in the telecom sector, according to a research done by global property adviser DTZ.
The DTZ research on Indian office market was conducted on six Indian cities including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata.
“The pace and scale of market recovery will be led by Tier I cities (Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru), while Tier II cities including Kolkata and Chennai will see a gradual recovery in the later part of 2010,” said Mr Priyankar Bhikshu, Head of India Research at DTZ.
As for Kolkata, the research shows that absorption levels which remained significantly low till the first quarter of 2009 recorded modest growth in the next two quarters of 2009, averaging 0.2 million sq ft quarter-over-quarter. Salt Lake accounted for nearly half of the total reported absorption while Rajarhat accounted for 40 per cent of this volume. Some of the sizable deals were concluded in telecom and ITeS space by players like Idea, Tata Telecommunications, Tech Mahindra, Genpact, Aegis and HDFC.
Last year's performance and number of floating enquiries in the market indicate an achievable average absorption of 1.3 million sq ft over the next five quarters, the DTZ research revealed about Kolkata.
Absorption is likely to firm up further towards the second quarter of 2010. On the supply front, the market is gearing to add nearly 5 million sq ft by the fourth quarter of 2010. At the modest to healthy rate of absorption and estimated supply addition, vacancy levels in Kolkata are not likely to take a respite over the whole of next year, the research revealed.
The demand from the telecom sector, which has strengthened over the past one and a half years, is likely to continue to account for a sizable portion of absorption volume next year. Many telecom companies like Idea Cellular, Shyam Telelink, Tata Telecommunications have taken up a sizable space in the region to establish their regional headquarters or large-scale facilities, with new players like Unitech Wireless, MTS etc. and their offshoot support services creating a fresh space demand in the sector.

Source: The Statesman

How to delete a post?
as the above post of mine sholud be deleted.
I have post it on WB thread.

only mods can do that..
you can edit it and write deleted if you want..

Just a few weeks back I think there was an article in either the Telegraph or the TOI saying the exact opposite. Cannot find that article

Brisk sales in office space

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/2009/12/13/stories/2009121351381500.htm

Commercial real estate business in Kolkata has made a significant recovery in 2009 with the rate of absorption of office space by companies growing at nearly 15 per cent over last year. In 2010 office space absorption in the city is poised to grow at nearly 10 per cent , according to real-estate experts and developers.

Companies took on lease 16 lakh sq.ft in 2009 as compared with 13.5 lakh sq.ft in 2008. This only marginally behind that of 2007 which saw a total absorption of 17 lakh sq.ft of commercial space.

Nearly 70 per cent of the space taken up by companies this year has already been put into use, according to industry insiders.

Some IT companies have also taken additional space to expand their operations at a later stage. A number of BPO, IT and ITeS, engineering, telecom and manufacturing companies have decided to shift their facilities from CBD (central business district) areas and other scattered locations in the city to larger and better facilities in the developing areas of Rajarhat and in the peripheral business district (PBD) of the Salt Lake Sector Five.

Companies in the financial sector, too, have taken up office spaces at Rajarhat for their back-office operations. Organised retail however lagged behind the other segments this year, the experts feel.

A number of such companies, having smaller facilities (about 10,000 sq.ft), are looking to expand to above 50,000 sq.ft units.

TCS, for example, recently took up 2.5 lakh sq.feet space at the Unitech project at Rajarhat and is negotiating for an additional 1.3 lakh sq.ft in the same building. The company is looking to consolidate operations in a single facility. Its present office space of around 1.8 lakh sq.ft is scattered across a number of campuses.

Tech Mahindra, too, has taken fresh office space of 70,000 sq.ft in the DLF building of Rajarhat, over and above their present facility of 30,000 sq.ft.

The lower remunerative BPO and call centre companies, however, preferred the more conveniently located areas at Salt Lake Sector Five. Aegis BPO, for instance, has taken 70,000 sq ft at Sector Five, up from its earlier facility of around 30,000 sq. ft.

Engineering companies such as Bharat McNally (1.3 lakh sq.ft), Voith (30,000 sq.ft) and Bayer have taken space at Ecospace, the newly developed project by Ambuja Realty. A number of companies (for example, Calcom Cement) were shifting from CBD areas such as Camac Street to Rajarhat due to better facilities and efficient layouts.

Just a few weeks back I think there was an article in either the Telegraph or the TOI saying the exact opposite. Cannot find that article

must have been sponsored by Mamta then ;)

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Ideal Lakeview|Topsia|u/c
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/6928/image0274.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
A tower of Diamond City West| Status: Almost complete
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/1424/image0266.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Wipro Flyover
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5334/image0284.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
WIPRO Flyover work in final stages
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/9550/image0285.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Seems that this will be the color of the pillars...
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3416/image0287.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Some construction work going on besides Technopolis
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2796/image0288.jpg

finally we have some more forumers for kolkata..
it will take the load off from Arijeet's Saraf' and Sun's shoulders considerably..:cheers:

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Lake Mall| Status: u/c
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/4446/image0268.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
The Unitech site near Siemens|Kasba|Saw some piling work in progress
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/5166/image0270.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
W-I-P @ Taj Gateway| Ruby Xing
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/640/image0271.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
another view
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2177/image0313z.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
A new Tower being constructed @ South City|Work happening behind green boundary
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/9650/image0319.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Merlin Cambridge|PAS Road|u/c
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2148/image0320.jpg

Blueprint ready for IIT campus at Rajarhat

TOI epaper

Finally, the second campus of IIT Kharagpur is coming up at Rajarhat. The institute has just finished chalking out plans for the new campus.

Once ready, this campus will house a sizeable part of the institute’s post-graduate departments, research centres, incubation programmes and an industry hub. The initial expenditure has been estimated at Rs 250 crores and is being completely funded by the union ministry of human resources development.

Once the second campus is commissioned, the Kharagpur campus will serve mainly for undergraduate education. While the institute has an extension centre in Salt Lake, where occasional seminars and training programmes are held, this space, too, is now being shared by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER).

Once commissioned, the second campus would reach a capacity of around 2,500 regular students. This apart, around 2,000 others, essentially tech post-graduate degree holders, would be trained in short-term programmes every year.

Neotia sets stage for 2nd homes

TOI epaper

By early 2011, Kolkata could have its own little paradise on the bank of the Ganga — complete with the luxury of villas, cottages and garden houses — just 50 km from the city centre at Raichak. Realtor Harsh Neotia’s dream project Ganga Awas is fast taking shape on the northern outskirts of the city.

Based on the concept of a ‘second home’, the riverside retreat — designed by noted architects Vivek Singh Rathore and Channa Daswatte who have modelled it on the French Riviera — the project has been an instant success. Booking enquiries have been pouring in and promoters GujaratRealty are pleasantly surprised at the keen interest Kolkatans have shown.

“When I first mooted the ‘baganbari’ concept, I had to sell to my friends and contacts who were more interested in the concept than anything else. Now, there is a genuine demand for a second home which has fuelled this interest. People living in apartments crave for a connect with nature. Our aim is to provide them a retreat, a second home to which they can drive down on the weekend. It won’t require arranging for a trip that takes out the hassle. We were, of course, lucky to have the riverfront which makes this retreat more picturesque than any other metro getaway,” said Harsh Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Realty.

Neotia painstakingly put together pieces of land on the bank of the Ganga which he acquired over a period of nearly 12 years. Ganga Awas offers three kinds of properties to buyers — luxury villas, landscaped cottages and garden houses. Termed “The Riviera”, “The Hermitage” and “Gardenia” respectively, they vary from 900 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft in area and are priced between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 80 lakh. While Riviera villas face the river, Hermitage cottages are designed like traditional ashrams and are meant to give you the feel of living in the lap of nature. Gardenia homes are draped in trees and vegetation with an old-world ‘baganbari’ feel.

Riviera villas have private plunge pools, lawns, a riverfacing terrace and a courtyard. Designed after an idyllic Bengal village, Hermitage has patio terraces while Gardenia villas are built around lemon and palm groves with personalized kitchen gardens.

Raichak, with its scenic, unaffected riverfront provides the ideal setting for a retreat, felt Neotia. “It is neither too far from Kolkata nor too close. You need to get into a car and travel some distance to shake off the city and slip into a holiday mood.”

Official website

http://www.raichakonganges.com/

http://gangaawas.ambujarealty.com/

A “superspeciality” hospital off the EM Bypass will open doors in the New Year

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091214/jsp/calcutta/story_11858877.jsp

The Rs 100-crore Medica Superspeciality Hospital, behind Metro Cash and Carry in Mukundapur, will start off with 320 beds in mid-January and subsequently add 180 more beds.

The hospital, which has recently softlaunched its OPD, will also possibly be the city’s “first green hospital,” having applied for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification developed by the US Green Building Council.

The management claims the hospital will offer advanced treatment and services at rates 30-60 per cent cheaper than what other private hospitals in the city charge.

According to Udayan Lahiry, the head of operations for the hospital, Medica Superspeciality is perhaps the only hospital in the country where the entire structure has double-glazed vacuum-filled glass to bring light in and keep heat out.

“We have done this because artificial lighting disrupts the patients’ biological clock,” he added.

Not able to view the pictures from studdmanster.

Not able to view the pictures from studdmanster.

Is it a particular post or all?
it might take some time as pics takes longer than texts
u can also view them @ Kolkata cityscapes :)

The urban development department has approached police for help in setting up a parking lot next to Salt Lake City Centre in the face of opposition from residents.

Residents are opposed to the project as it would come up on a park in Block DC.

“We have written to the superintendent of North 24-Parganas police and the additional police superintendent, Salt Lake,” said a senior official of the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority’s (CMDA) planning wing.

A year and a half ago, the urban development department had signed an agreement with Simplex Projects Limited for constructing a multi-level parking plaza on a plot adjacent to City Centre.

Pegged at Rs 50 crore — including the cost of land — the project proposed a five-tier building across 62 cottahs where four floors would accommodate around 500 cars and 40 two-wheelers. The rest of the area (15 per cent) would be available for commercial use.

According to the deal, Simplex Projects Limited would undertake the project on a build-operate-transfer basis for 30 years and then hand over the parking lot to the CMDA.

“The deal was signed in March 2008 and construction was supposed to be completed in 18 months. But with residents’ associations protesting against the project, there was hardly any progress,” said a senior CMDA official.

Local residents, including those of The Residency in City Centre, feel the destruction of the picturesque park next to City Centre would be a terrible loss to the locality.

“It is a beautiful park where both young and old residents come in the morning, practise yoga and breathe fresh air. A multi-tier car parking lot would make the area horribly polluted,” pointed out Suranjan Bonerjee, 71, who lives at The Residency.

The company handling the project feels such problems should have been ironed out before the deal was inked. The government has already received nearly 50 per cent of the project cost.

“It’s the government’s responsibility to ensure that we can start work on the project,” said B.K. Duggal of Simplex Projects.

Source: The Telegraph

Howrah truck terminal, 15km from city

Trucks and cars headed towards the city regularly make use of an opening in the divider to reach the fuel pump on the right flank, coming in the way of vehicles speeding down the expressway. The “intersection” neither has a traffic light nor any policeman to enforce a semblance of road discipline.

“Accidents occur every day but nobody has bothered sealing the breach in the divider or at least regulating traffic. I guess only a human tragedy like the one that we saw less than 50km from here on Sunday will shake up the authorities,” said Dipak Das, a cook in a roadside dhaba.

Ankurhati More, 20km

The presence of pedestrians along with trucks trying to cross over makes this one of the more accident-prone areas along the highway. The opening in the divider is apparently to spare residents of the villages on either side of the road the trouble of exercising the safer but lengthier option of travelling a few kilometres to do a proper U-turn.

On Monday, the lone, lathi-wielding policeman doing duty at the “crossing” seemed scarcely bothered about trucks on the left flank getting to the right side and driving at least another 500 metres to stop at a fuel pump or an eatery.

Shop owner D. Mandal said it was a “miracle” that someone wasn’t getting killed every day. “Sunday’s mishap was a wake-up call but I suspect the fear will be gone in a day or two.”

Jangalpur, 25km

This highway stop has turned into a township of sorts because of the Jalan Complex, where nearly 1,000 small industrial units operate, and assorted factories on either side of the road. Trucks flit in and out of these units day and night at the risk of colliding with speeding vehicles on both flanks.

The absence of a traffic signal or police personnel makes negotiating this stretch almost a game of Russian roulette. “Sometimes you will see police vans parked on either side but they come not to keep an eye on traffic but for bribes,” said tobacco-seller Amit Ansari.

Dhulagarh, 30km

A small opening in the divider barely 500 metres from the Dhulagarh toll plaza is the gateway to the Sankrail Industrial Park for hundreds of trucks, trailers and other heavy vehicles that bring raw materials and leave with finished goods.

The police are conspicuous by their absence here, too. “I close my eyes whenever I see a heavy vehicle hurtle across the road to enter the industrial park, lest I see a fatal accident,” said Sukumar Patra, a loom operator in a plastic factory.

Khalisani-Kalitala, 35km

The opening in the divider looks barely enough for a small car to pass through but trucks and trailers regularly use it to get to the other side, sometimes with the wheels going over a portion of the median divider. A traffic policeman mans the “crossing” on some days but only in name.

Food vendor Paresh Mandal saw a cop being injured a few days back when a mini truck that he had tried to stop knocked him down. “Drivers rule the road. The only way out is to seal all the openings,” he said.

Source: The Telegraph

The ball has finally been set rolling for the long-awaited renovation of Kumartuli. Though construction is not likely to start before February 2010, the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), the project’s executing body, has started work on relocating the artisans. Metro takes stock of the project and its peeves.

The project:

An area spread over 3.87 acre has been demarcated in Kumartuli for building four blocks in G+3 and G+4 formats. The ground floors will house the artisans’ workshops, while the upper floors will comprise of residential quarters. The dwelling units, each covering 27sq m, will have a multi-purpose room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and a balcony.

An exhibition-cum-sale hall spread over 325sq m, a dormitory for workers, a training and health centre, two parks, a stage and a community hall have also been planned under the project. “The artisans’ studios will occupy almost the same floor space as their former workshops,” said a CMDA official.

The Kumartuli project falls under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Around Rs 22 crore has been sanctioned for the project — to be borne by the central and state governments — but CMDA officials feel the project cost will rise.

The rehabilitation:

For the next couple of years, 541B Rabindra Sarani will be home to the Kumartuli artisans. Till a few weeks back, the Rabindra Sarani address housed godowns owned by the public health engineering department and the department of health and family welfare. The godowns are being razed to build temporary quarters for the artisans.

“We got possession of one of the godowns in April and the rest about 10 days ago. The place was filled with mounds of cement and iron rods and was unfit for living,” said a CMDA engineer. The rehabilitation cost is being borne by the state. Though estimated at Rs 1.61 crore, the expenses have already “gone up to Rs 6 crore”, say CMDA sources.

The rehabilitation will be carried out in two phases — blocks B (Ganga Prasad Lane) and C (part of Bonomali Sarkar Street) of Kumartuli will form the first phase while blocks A (Durga Charan Banerjee Street) and D (Rabindra Sarani and another part of Bonomali Sarkar Street) will comprise the second phase.

What caused the delay:

A revised blueprint of the Kumartuli facelift was drafted in September 2008, and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee laid the foundation stone in January 2009. The CMDA started work nine months later. The delay has irked most Kumartuli artisans.

“The CMDA’s indifference is the reason behind the delay. The entire process, from survey to plan submission and deed processing, is taking longer than necessary,” said Mintu Pal, the joint secretary of Kumartuli Mritshilpi Sanskritik Samity.

The other reason for the delay was choosing the rehabilitation site. Three sites — Strand Bank Road, Pran Krishna Mukherjee Street and Nivedita Park in Bagbazar — were considered by the CMDA and the artisans before deciding on the Rabindra Sarani site.

Source: The Telegraph

Orion IT SEZ, one of the biggest projects at Newtown

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4448/oriond.jpg (http://img526.imageshack.us/i/oriond.jpg/)

What happened to this project??.....Is there any update??

Orion IT SEZ, one of the biggest projects at Newtown

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4448/oriond.jpg (http://img526.imageshack.us/i/oriond.jpg/)

What happened to this project??.....Is there any update??

Either it has been scrapped:bash: or mi8 come into li8 only aftr 2011:bash:
btw where ws it coming up in new twn?

I am not able to see any picture for all post.
Any link for kolkata cityscapes?

if you are not able to view the pics here then you won't be able to see them in the cityscapes thread as well..
anyways this (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=436029) is the link

Either it has been scrapped:bash: or mi8 come into li8 only aftr 2011:bash:
btw where ws it coming up in new twn?

^^Do not think any construction has startd. The only SEZ that was u/c in New Town was the DLF IT SEZ, that is history now.

The government on Wednesday allegedly violated the East Kolkata Wetlands Management Act, 2006 by announcing a road widening project through the Ramsar site without the empowered panel’s permission.

On Wednesday evening, state urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya and Kolkata mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya laid the foundation stone for widening the single-lane Chowbagha Road to four lanes. The approval of East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority (EKWMA), headed by chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti, is mandatory for all projects proposed in the wetlands.

The project to expand the 4.3 m single-lane Chowbagha Road to 18 m four-lane expressway connecting Basanti highway at Chowbagha to Kalikapur on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass requires conversion of over 60,000 sq m of wetland area into metalled road.

“Kiranmay Nanda’s fisheries department is building a structure next to Nalban bheri without bothering about EKWMA’s nod. Now, KMC and KMDA have joined hands to make a mockery of the Act,” said Bonani Kakkar, member of EKWMA and co-founder of PUBLIC. In the early 1990s, it was PUBLIC’s petition against the government proposal to construct a World Trade Centre on 228 acres of wetland that led to the landmark judgment on its protection. The minister and the mayor claimed the road did not pass through the wetland.

Source: TNN

^^^^Lets hope that this road comes to light....as there are plans of many other highrises on that strech like Urbana
Already EKWMA has turned down the World Trade Centre bldng's plan...:ohno:
this proves that the govt never thinks before taking any step:bash:

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Roadwork on WIPRO flyover seems to be complete
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/6707/image0286.jpg

Anyone heard of this project? Interesting plan.. It says Under Construction..

http://www.dhootgroup.net/spring_valley.asp

Name : Spring Valley
Location : Rajarhat, Kolkata
Area : 140 Acres
Type : Residential

http://www.dhootgroup.net/images/spring_valley.jpg

New IT Tower in Sec V

TOI epaper

Several small and medium-sized IT companies have started showing an interest in investing in the state. The state government is building a 16-storeyed building, with 96,000 square feet builtup area, at Salt Lake’s Sector V, to meet the growing demand.

An IT department official said, “Many middle and small IT and IT-enables Services (ITeS) firms want to set up shop at Sector V and Rajarhat. But the former tech hub is saturated. Thus, the new indoor space will be a big help.”

The urban development department has handed over 20 cottahs to Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) that runs Salt Lake’s Sector V for the 16-storey structure. The built-up area for each floor will be 6,000 square feet. The building will have duplex parking space in the basement with space for about 60 cars. The first three storeys will house the NDITA headquarters and the rest 78,000 square feet will be offered for IT.

“The complex will be built by a government agency. So the rent for space in it will be reasonable and many small and medium IT and ITeS companies will be encouraged to invest,” IT secretary Siddharth said. S A Ahmed, chairman, NDITA, explained, “The construction cost — Rs 30 crore — will be generated from the advance paid by the IT companies. We have some funds to initiate the project for now. But advertisements will soon be published in newspapers to woo IT companies.”

The construction begins in January and ends in another two years.

Check this ... Forum III looks good... don't know if that is the actual rendering ...

http://www.dhootgroup.net/future.asp

Synergy Office Complex...
Location : Heart of Rajarhat, Newtown the Office Complex
http://www.canopygroup.in/wwwroot/images/office-complex12.jpg

X2-->Opposite to CTS office
http://www.canopygroup.in/wwwroot/images/x2n1.jpg

And some residentials projects too...
Source: http://www.canopygroup.in/

Unable to acquire land on its own, the government of West Bengal has asked real estate developers building residential and commercial complexes in Rajarhat township, on the outskirts of Kolkata, and other adjoining areas to buy land for it so that it can build the civic infrastructure........

BRADA doesn’t have the infrastructure to acquire land, said Piyush Bhagat, director of Spring Valley Developers Pvt. Ltd—a realty firm, which has on its own acquired some 100 acres in Rajarhat and areas adjoining it over the past seven years.

For most private players, acquiring land wasn’t difficult, according to Sandip Jain, head of finance at Canopy Project Pvt. Ltd—a firm planning a 180-acre residential complex. “We completed the acquisition in three years,” said Jain. “It wasn’t difficult because we agreed to accommodate landowners’ reasonable demands.”



http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/17222330/Rajarhat-Project--Bengal-asks.html

Fort Legend

26 Terrace Apartments across 16 levels at Southern Avenue, Kolkata

http://www.fortgroup.com/fort_legend.html

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6628/fortlegendkolkata.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/fortlegendkolkata.jpg/)

46 luxury apartments with modular kitchens in a G+12 tower and the 2 exclusive (G+1) bungalows

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/7573/dakshinb.jpg (http://img707.imageshack.us/i/dakshinb.jpg/)

http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi/residential/dashin/index.htm

New IT Tower in Sec V

16-storeyed building, with 96,000 square feet builtup area

TOI epaper

:?
is that a typo?

picture posted by "kolkata" is visible

Anyone heard of this project? Interesting plan.. It says Under Construction..

http://www.dhootgroup.net/spring_valley.asp

Name : Spring Valley
Location : Rajarhat, Kolkata
Area : 140 Acres
Type : Residential

http://www.dhootgroup.net/images/spring_valley.jpg

Yes, this project was in news on 6th June 2005(The Statesman). See the link
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?date=2005-06-06&usrsess=1&clid=30&id=107265

But I'm not sure whether the picture here presents the actual project.

Photo cc SarafIndian

Indian Institute of Chemical Biology(U/C) site
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6637/17122009002v.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7523/17122009001.jpg

U/C
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2909/17122009004t.jpg

Taj Gateway U/C at Ruby
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/2028/19122009006.jpg

Link:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/City-may-get-65-storey-skyscraper/articleshow/5357435.cms

This tower should be around 230-250m if aproved.Will add to the skyline.

KOLKATA: It's still a far shot from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur or the Burj Dubai.


But Kolkata may soon join the list of cities with awe-inspiring skyscrapers. A real estate group has recently submitted a plan to Kolkata Municipal Corporation authorities to sanction its plan for a 65-storey building.

The structure, which will nearly be double the height of the 35-storey towers adjoining South City Mall on Prince Anwar Shah Road now regarded as city's tallest buildings will come up on Chowringhee.

According to plans submitted to the KMC building department, the 65 storey building will be used for residential purposes. Sources in the KMC building department said that the civic body could earn Rs 20 crore by sanctioning the plan for the building.

According to sources in the KMC building department, the same real

estate group had submitted a plan to construct a 75-storey building. But the same was rejected.

The proposed 65-storey building will come up on a nine-bigha plot spread over three different sub plots. "These plots on Jawaharlal Nehru Road and Russell Street will be amalgamated. Once the amalgamation of plots is complete, the KMC building department will concentrate on approving the building plan," municipal commissioner Arnab Roy said on Saturday.

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
U/c bldng in RB Cnctr
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2953/image0336.jpg

X-Posted From Kolkata Cityscapes
Stadium u/c|Accropolis
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5175/image0337.jpg

Home-grown Vibgyor Vehicles will rub shoulders with industry heavyweights Rolls-Royce, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi next month when it showcases its range of motorcycles at the 10th Auto Expo in Delhi.
A minnow in the auto scene (it launched its first bike — 100 cc Gallop — this March and began sales in rural pockets of eastern India in May), Vibgyor will unveil two performance bikes — 150cc Shark and 125cc Hunter — on the same day that Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata lifts the veil on the much-awaited electric Indica.
“Participation in the Auto Expo will be a big stride in realizing our pan-India ambitions. Apart from the exposure to the brand, it will be the perfect opportunity to tie up with potential dealers in markets across the country,” said Kolkata-based Vibgyor group chairman & managing director Raja Bhadra.
The company currently manufactures motorcycles at a factory on a 14 bigha site at Dhulagarh and has acquired 35 bighas at Dankuni to set up its second factory. The production line at the new unit will go online early next year.
“At present, we have Gallop, an entry level product that has been marketed in rural areas of Bengal, UP and Gujarat. Once we introduce performance bikes Shark and Hunter, we will reach out to metro and tier-II cities,” vicepresident Mrigen Banerjee said.
Like Gallop that is aggressively priced at 29,990, it will price the Shark at Rs 49,990 and Hunter at Rs 41,990, way below competitor’s products. The company has targeted 1 lakh bikes in the first year of operation, followed by 1.5 lakh vehicles in 2010 and 2 lakh in 2011. The volumes include exports to m a rke t s in South Asia and A f r i c a . The target revenue in
these years is pegged at Rs 350 crore, Rs 700 crore and Rs 900 crore. To achieve the figures, Vibgyor hopes to increase its dealership count from 40 at present to 200 by June, 2010. By then, it will have at least five products in its portfolio, including a 125 cc scooter and a second 100 cc motorcycle.
At the Auto Expo, Vibgyor has booked a 700 sq ft stall and plans to fly down brand ambassador Sourav Ganguly to unveil the two bikes.

Source: TOI

Eastern High

Kousik Bhowal

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/61/easternhighkolkatakousi.jpg (http://img685.imageshack.us/i/easternhighkolkatakousi.jpg/)

Health-care provider Fortis to expand and add 600 beds in the first half of 2010 with the commissioning of new facilities in
Bangalore, Kolkata and expansion of its existing facility at Mulund in Mumbai.

Speaking about the acquisition of Rs 909 crore Wockhard Hospitals by Fortis Healthcare Limited Vishal Bali CEO Fortis Hospitals Group, told reporters that with the addition of 10 Wockhardt hospitals, Fortis Healthcare would scale up its presence from 29 to 39 hospitals and enhance its bed capacity from 3,278 to 5,180.

The 1,902 additional beds include 414 in the new facility in Kolkata (currently under construction) and 120 in Peenya number of beds to be added Mulund facility, which is under expansion, he said.

Elaborating on city-specific plans, he said Fortis would expand its presence in Bangalore with the 120 bedded hospital in Peenya, being completed with its joint venture partner Kirloskar.

An outpatient speciality and diagnostic centre which became operational four months ago would also expand. The group plans to start an oncology centre in Bangalore in future, he said.

Source: The Economic Times

Health-care provider Fortis to expand and add 600 beds in the first half of 2010 with the commissioning of new facilities in
Bangalore, Kolkata and expansion of its existing facility at Mulund in Mumbai.

Speaking about the acquisition of Rs 909 crore Wockhard Hospitals by Fortis Healthcare Limited Vishal Bali CEO Fortis Hospitals Group, told reporters that with the addition of 10 Wockhardt hospitals, Fortis Healthcare would scale up its presence from 29 to 39 hospitals and enhance its bed capacity from 3,278 to 5,180.

The 1,902 additional beds include 414 in the new facility in Kolkata (currently under construction) and 120 in Peenya number of beds to be added Mulund facility, which is under expansion, he said.

Elaborating on city-specific plans, he said Fortis would expand its presence in Bangalore with the 120 bedded hospital in Peenya, being completed with its joint venture partner Kirloskar.

An outpatient speciality and diagnostic centre which became operational four months ago would also expand. The group plans to start an oncology centre in Bangalore in future, he said.

Source: The Economic Times

^^I am glad they took over the ailing workhardt. I am guessing the 414 bed hospital is the one U/C for ages and located behind the Calcutta Intl school. Kolkata is slowly but surely getting a significant increase in the hospital bed count.

^^Nice updates, Saraf!

I personally do not approve high rises in such small land parcels. Kind of ridiculous to get approval to construct such high-rises. There are several of these in sector V and they are located in narrow lanes with no parking facility to talk of. A sureshot recipe for disaster:ohno:

CM help for art college
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091223/jsp/calcutta/story_11898445.jsp

KMDA's AG block tower inaugurated today

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/2821/agblocktower.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/agblocktower.jpg/)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NC27zKvZN6E/Sl-shdaNIyI/AAAAAAAACvk/j-6UBhujMZY/s1600/THE%2BSONNET%2BKOLKATA.jpg

Thats a tiny hotel!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NC27zKvZN6E/Sl-shdaNIyI/AAAAAAAACvk/j-6UBhujMZY/s1600/THE%2BSONNET%2BKOLKATA.jpg
such a small hotel.:)..but good design

Videocon Group is making a foray into the hospitality business. The Group plans to set up a hotel at its upcoming Rs 900 crore IT Park at Salt Lake in West Bengal, that will primarily cater to the IT and ITeS sector.

According to a report in The Economic Times by Sutanuka Ghosal, confirming the development, Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman, Videocon Group said, “This will be our pilot project. If we taste success in this, we will look at expanding our footprint in the hospitality business all over the country.”

Dhoot said, “We have received permission from the West Bengal government to use 20 per cent of our upcoming IT space at Salt Lake for commercial purpose. We have decided to set up a hotel, which will have all hi-tech facilities that will only serve the IT sector people.”

Dhoot however, refused to identify, who will be Videocon’s partner in the hospitality business. “Since the hotel will be located in a prime location at Salt Lake, a number of foreign hotel chains are visiting the place to get a fair idea. It is premature to comment whether this will finally culminate into a business agreement with anyone specific” he said.

Source:hospitalitybizindia.com

West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation (WEBEL) has invited proposals from prospective companies for development of office space in Sector-V of Salt Lake in Kolkata.

WEBEL plans to offer land measuring 2.77 acre, presently vacant, to develop electronics, IT/ITES office space, through competitive bidding.

WEBEL has roped in Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants as the transaction manager for the project.

Last date for submission of RFPs is 21 January 2009

Source:www.Projectstoday.com

Kolkata: This is yet another example as to how state government agencies simply sit on proposed projects.
Around four years ago, KMDA had informed the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) that they would like to extend Millennium Park towards the Howrah bridge side. However, with no follow-up since then by either agency, the plan is just lying idle as KoPT is yet to sanction more land to KMDA to work on the plan.
“The plan was discussed with KoPT authorities around four years back. The proposal was placed before them after the second park within the Millennium Park boundary was inaugurated. We are ready with our plans. We can start work as soon as KoPT hands over a few acres of the riverside land,” said an official of KMDA’s Ganga Action Plan (GAP) sector.
KoPT’s acting chairman A K Majumder said he personally has not received any such proposal till date. “May be KMDA authorities had spoken with officials of our land sector. In any case, if such a proposal has been submitted to KoPT, it will definitely be placed before me,” he said.
However, KMDA authorities have not followed up on the plan with KoPT. “The extension plan was discussed between the two agencies long before I joined as KMDA CEO. The issue will certainly be placed again to the KoPT authorities,” said KMDA’s chief executive officer Vivek Bharadwaj.
State urban d eve l o p m e n t minister Asok Bhattacharya did not want to involve himself in the matter. “It is not that KoPT has not cooperated. They have released their land earlier,” he said, avoiding to comment on the proposed extension plan.
According to plans, the new extension will have sprawling lawns and open terrace gardens along with colourful water fountains and Victoria lighting like the existing park. There would also be rest sheds facing the river for the visitors to sit and enjoy the cool breeze. Adequate parking space will also be provided.

Source:TOI

West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) is likely to invite fresh bids for the Rs 130-crore Ganga Heritage River Cruise project by mid-January 2010.

WBTDC and the Union Government have decided to make changes sought by investors. Private investors had demanded that the Government's investment in the PPP project of Rs 32 crore should be treated as a grant or subsidy rather than equity. They also wanted allotment of some land.

According to sources, the government is now likely to give a grant of 25 per cent of the project cost. WBTDC is to have 26 per cent share while 74 per cent is to be held by the private investor.

However, under the previous tender, the private investor was supposed to get 50 per cent stake and the rest to be divided between the Union and State Governments.

Source:www.projectstoday.com

Photo cc SarafIndian

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/1093/ksc05031.jpg

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/9083/ksc05030.jpg

Kolkata:
According to plans, the new extension will have sprawling lawns and open terrace gardens along with colourful water fountains and Victoria lighting like the existing park. There would also be rest sheds facing the river for the visitors to sit and enjoy the cool breeze. Adequate parking space will also be provided.

Source:TOI

^^How will they achieve this ? By demolishing the 2 centuries old warehouses on Strand Road?

Saraf / ArijeetB - what project is this?

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/1093/ksc05031.jpg

Saraf / ArijeetB - what project is this?

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/1093/ksc05031.jpg

sythesis IT park-new town

Saraf / ArijeetB - what project is this?

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/1093/ksc05031.jpg

sythesis IT park-new town

Sun, highrise-kolkata I am not sure about this one(It is just few 100 meters aways from DLF) but it is not Synthesis business park. Synthesis is the below one..

http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi/commercial/synthesis_businesspark/index.htm

Photo cc SarafIndian

http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/1717/ksc05045.jpg

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/5236/ksc05046.jpg

i think it is a commercial complex planned by HIDCO

Videocon may convert city unit into d2h hub
Sutanuka Ghosal KOLKATA


CONSUMER durable major Videocon plans to convert its Kolkata manufacturing facility at Taratola into a hub for its d2h satellite TV. The d2h satellite TV is a television with an inbuilt DTH (direct-to-home) set top box.
Gautam Sengupta, eastern regional head of Videocon told ET: “At present, we are working on our plans for manufacturing LCD panels at Taratola. Parallely, we are also planning to manufacture LCD and flat televisions that have inbuilt DTH set top box. The Taratola factory may turn out to be a hub of d2h television manufacturing facility in the long run.”
Videocon plans to roll out some 20,000-30,000 television sets with inbuilt set-top box from the Taratola factory. Videocon has invested Rs 120 crore at the Taratala factory for developing LCD panels that will be used for manufacturing television sets and monitors.
Mr Sengupta added that the Taratala factory will start manufacturing d2h satellite television sets from end of January 2010. “The prototype for the d2h satellite TV was developed at the Aurangabad factory and Videocon has already made a soft launch of the product in the national market. The response is quite encouraging,” he added. Videocon d2h has partnered with Irdeto for a modular scalable Conditional Access System (CAS), and they have partnered with Tech Mahindra in the IT space and IBM for technology infrastructure.
Incidentally, direct-to-home service is a new business venture of Videocon. The other major players in this sector are Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Reliance BIG TV among others.
Videocon plans to manufacture some 3.5 lakh LCD panels at its Taratola factory annually. Videocon Displays Research Co Ltd, which is Videocon’s wholly-owned subsidiary based in Japan, is helping its Indian parent to develop this technology at the Taratola plant.
Indications are that Videocon will market these LCD televisions and monitors both in the domestic and overseas markets.
The official said the LCD panel manufacturing unit employs some 100-odd people, of which 50% are women. Incidentally, the total market of LCD and flat screen TV sets is around 7 lakh units per annum and is set to double in the next few years. “It is expected that by 2012, the demand for LCD TVs will surpass the demand for CRT TVs in India,” Mr Sengupta added. At present, Videocon manufactures some 50,000 TVs per month at its Salt Lake factory as well.

Source: Times of India (31 Dec 09)

Bengal Hockey Association gets land for separate hockey stadium

PTI 1 January 2010, 08:38pm IST

KOLKATA: The Bengal Hockey Association is all set to have its own stadium after the state government on Friday signed an agreement with it to hand over four acres of land for constructing the facility with an artificial turf.

The agreeement was signed between officials of state's sports department and the BHA in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Sports Minister Kanti Ganguly.

The user agreement would remain valid for five years and be subject to further extension.

The 8000-seater stadium would come up within the Yuba Bharati Krirangan complex behind Hyatt Regency hotel in 18 months time for national or international matches, the BHA Secretary Gurbux Singh said. Hockey great Leslie Claudius was also present on the occasion.

The state's Sports Minister Kanti Ganguly said, "We have to construct hockey stadiums even in the districts for the benefit of hockey."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/hockey/top-stories/Bengal-Hockey-Association-gets-land-for-separate-hockey-stadium-/articleshow/5402834.cms

Wipro opens purse for Rajarhat plot

Wipro has paid the first instalment of the price of the plot it has been offered to set up its second campus in the city, raising hopes that the project would take off soon.

The information technology major had on Thursday handed over to the government a cheque for around Rs18 crore as the application fee for the 50-acre plot in New Town Action Area III.

“Wipro has given 25 percent of the quoted price for the plot as application fee,” said a senior official of Hidco, the implementing agency of the Rajarhat township. The remaining amount will have to be paid within 90 days.

Premji had set an 18-month deadline for work to start on the second campus after finalising the land deal at a meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on December 11.

The company had closed the deal at Rs 75 crore, at Rs 1.5 crore per acre. When Wipro first expressed interest in setting up a campus in Rajarhat, the government had quoted a price of Rs 2.16 crore an acre.

“Wipro had promised to pay the first instalment in December and has kept its word. This suggests the company wants to start work at the earliest,” said a senior official in the state IT department.

Sources in the department said work would start in 2010.

Now that the application fee has been paid, Hidco can start measuring and demarcating the plot. Once the process is through, the Bangalore-headquartered company will have to submit its construction plans to Hidco for approval.

“At times we need to make some minor adjustments during the measurement and demarcation process. This has to be done before the final instalment is paid,” the Hidco official added.

Wipro officials refused comment on the issue.

Source : TT, 02.01.2010

Going up: Height of luxury living

TOI epaper

The benchmark for luxurious living in the city is set to be raised. Literally. A project on a three-acre plot off Eastern Metropolitan Bypass will not just scale new heights in indulgence, but also pip the tallest residential towers in the city.

“The intent is to make new-age luxury condominiums that will usher in concepts that are unknown in this part of the world. I am looking at something like villas in the sky with stepped terrace gardens and exclusive elevators for premium units. The concept brief has been handed to Singapore-based architecture firm ARC and plan drawings should crystallize in a month,” said developer Rahul Saraf.

In all, 115 units are proposed in two towers of 125-130 metre each. With the current tallest towers at the South City complex measuring 105 metre, the twin towers are expected to be 40 floors each. The total builtup area will be 4 lakh sq ft.

This Rs 275-crore project will mark Saraf ’s entry into residential addresses after his success in retail and commercial space. He is credited with developing pioneering projects in both fields, having ushered in Kolkata’s first mall, Forum, and promoting the city’s first green building, Technopolis.

Targeted at business honchos and executives who have arrived in life and don’t mind spending a fortune for life in the lap of luxury, the average cost of apartment in the twin towers is expected to be around Rs 2.5 crore. Though Saraf insisted that the price band has not been fixed yet, his intent to create an alternative luxury address to rival Alipore and Ballygunge may peg the price at an astronomical Rs 15,000 per square feet.

Incidentally, Saraf Projects successfully bid for the site, shelling out Rs 11.11 crore to Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). This is the first project that has been auctioned without condition in the recent past.

“Till now, the other plots in this belt have been sold for specific projects like developing hotels and offices. This time, we allowed the successful bidder to decide on the project format,” said municipal commissioner Arnab Roy.

“I want to develop a better alternative to the congested posh addresses that we have now,” says Saraf. “Internationally, apartment blocks are referred to as condominiums when they are spread over a minimum of 1.5 acre. Here, we have an opportunity to create ultra-modern, trendy living space in a location that is extremely strategic.”

To the east of the plot is the East Kolkata Wetlands, a vast open space. It has Basanti canal to the south, the Mirania waterbody to the west and Science City and the ITC Sonar hotel to the north. If the proposed flyover from Park Circus to Paroma roundabout goes through, all major business hubs — BBD Bag, Park Street and Salt Lake sector V — would be within a 10-minute drive.

Given the site’s strategic positioning, Saraf plans to make the towers iconic structures. However, in trying to create a landmark, he is keen to ensure harmony with nature. “As a developer, we have always believed in a different philosophy. We want to build it in such a way that it does not impact on the site’s green footprint,” he added.

Actual work on the ground is expected to begin sometime in the middle of this year with a completion date set around mid-2013.

I think this has been posted?

The Oasis Mall

Kolkata, India

Client: Unitech Ltd.

This 600,000 sq.ft. retail and mixed use development includes a hotel and retail and entertainment compnents. Forrec was retained for the master planning, programming, concept design and architectural design of the project.




http://i49.tinypic.com/2qji16w.jpg


http://i48.tinypic.com/2q3oh7t.jpg


http://i45.tinypic.com/t87sqo.jpg

Designed by Canada based FORREC (http://www.forrec.com/re_os.html)

The benchmark for luxurious living in the city is set to be raised. Literally. A project on a three-acre plot off Eastern Metropolitan Bypass will not just scale new heights in indulgence, but also pip the tallest residential towers in the city.

The construction of 40-storey Unitech Air already began in 2008 while the 169- metre tall Urbana(G+40 and G+45) at Anandapur are being constructed. How then, they claim this is the tallest residential towers in the city!!?

A flurry of construction activity along the EM Bypass-Salt Lake-New Town route to the airport has turned the fast-track corridor into a snarl-at-every-site stretch. The bouquet of infrastructure projects behind these bottlenecks, however, promises long-term gain to Calcuttans in return for subjecting them to commuting pain in the short term. Metro takes the dusty road to decode the work in progress

What: Four-lane flyover

Where: EM Bypass-VIP Road.

Why: Vehicles headed for Lake Town, Bangur, Kestopur, Baguiati or the airport via the Bypass can avoid the congested Ultadanga crossing once the Rs 68crore flyover is ready. According to a CMDA official, the number of vehicles passing through Ultadanga will drop by 200 per cent once the flyover is thrown open.

Work status: Work is underway at both ends of the flyover, near VIP Towers on VIP Road and off Bidhan Sishu Udyan on the Bypass. Vehicles headed for the Bypass are now allowed to take the slip bridge and pass through a narrow road under the incomplete flyover.

Deadline: June 2010.

Commuterspeak: “Three traffic signals to hit the EM Bypass is one too many. That stretch takes nearly 15 minutes to cover because of the logjam at Ultadanga and the Hudco crossing. Once the flyover is ready it could take us hardly four minutes to hit the Bypass from VIP Road,” said Ananta Sen, a resident of Baguiati.

What: Four-lane flyover

Where: Wipro crossing, where Sector II ends and Sector V begins.

Why: The Rs 41.5crore

flyover promises to ease the chaotic crossing’s burden. Once it is opened, vehicles headed for Rajarhat or the airport needn’t halt at the crossing for the traffic signal to turn green. Those coming from New Town or the airport can also take the flyover and hit the Bypass.

Work status: Final touches are being given to the 629-metre-long flyover, scheduled to be inaugurated on Tuesday. The intersection is presently closed to traffic entering Sector V or coming towards Karunamoyee from there.

Deadline: January 5, 2010.

Commuterspeak: “The flyover will definitely end snarls on this stretch, which is such a big relief for us,” said Akash Dutta, who lives near Karunamoyee.

What: East-West Metro

Where: EM Bypass and parts of Salt Lake.

Why: The new Metro rail line, costing Rs 4,874 crore, will connect Sector V to Howrah, intersecting with the existing Dum Dum-Garia Bazar route in central Calcutta.

Work status: The pillars and the viaduct, on which the tracks are to be laid, are being constructed first. In Salt Lake, the stretches between Duttabad and City Centre, and Unnayan Bhavan and JK Saha bridge, have been dug up for the first phase of construction. Work is also underway on the EM Bypass between Mani Square and Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, and in front of Salt Lake stadium. Commuters going through the busy Karunamoyee crossing are inconvenienced the most with almost half the road barricaded. “The train will run on elevated tracks from Sector V till Subhas Sarobar, the part which is being built first,” said A.K. Chattopadhyay, the chief electrical engineer of Calcutta Metro Rail Corporation.

Deadline: October 2014.

Commuterspeak: “We should not be grumbling about the traffic snarls. If parts of the road are not blocked, how will such a project come up?” demanded Prodyut Deb, a government official in Salt Lake.

What: Sewer and water lines in Salt Lake

Where: Sector V, between College More and the IBM office in DN block.

Why: Sector V doesn’t have underground water and sewer lines. Once water supply starts, deep-bore wells will be banned.

Work status: A 2km stretch is all that remains to be covered under the Rs 70crore scheme. The western flank of this stretch is currently closed to traffic, causing a traffic crawl, but engineers say work will be over soon.

Deadline: March 2010.

Commuterspeak: “With so many reputable companies having their offices here, basic amenities should have been in place long ago. We are glad that finally Sector V will have its sewer and water supply network,” said Anwesha Dutta, a techie.

What: Six-lane flyover

Where: Rajarhat Expressway.

Why: Many vehicles bound for the airport from south or central Calcutta take the expressway to avoid snarls at Ultadanga and along VIP Road. With the number of vehicles increasing every day, the Rs 22.35crore flyover is meant to ensure that the expressway remains a high-speed corridor.

Work status: The 430-metre-long flyover that takes off near the bus stand in Action Area I and ends adjacent to the Peerless commercial complex is currently at the piling stage. A portion of the expressway has been blocked but traffic hasn’t been hit hard yet.

Deadline: April 2011.

Commuterspeak: “Pedestrians will benefit from this flyover as much as fast-moving traffic. Those wanting to cross the road to and from the Reliance outlet can do so without the fear of being run over,” said a resident.

Source: The Telegraph

AIM-listed DQ Entertainment (DQE) is set to embark on an expansion drive in Hyderabad and Kolkata and hopes to add another 600 people within the next six months. The company, which is expecting Sebi’s nod for its IPO, currently employs 3500 people globally with over 250 working in Kolkata.
DQE chairman and CEO Taapas Chakravarti said: “We are planning to double our capacity in Kolkata over and above the existing 4000 sq ft we have now and would want rented premises in the city for a production facility. We are also interested to set up a Webel-DQ training facility in Siliguri to cater to north Bengal and North-East that would entail a Rs 6 crore investment on our part.” He was here to announce the production of an animated tele-movie and television series —The Mysteries and Feluda.

Source: TNN

State sees Rs 5 lakh cr investment in 2007-10

ET KOLKATA


ASSOCHAM, along with the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Merchants Chamber of Commerce, has projected an investment of Rs 5 lakh crore in West Bengal in the 2007-2010 period. This startling revelation came at a press conference organised by the trio in Kolkata on Tuesday.
DS Rawat, secretary general , Assocham, said: In 2007-08 , West Bengal has seen investments to the tune of Rs 3 lakh crore. Subsequently and till 2010 fiscal, a further Rs 2 lakh crore worth of investment is expected in the state.
If Mr Rawat is right, Mamata Banerjee will have less of a mission to accomplish. If the figures are correct, it will be music even to the ears of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee along with his terribly harassed Left Front government . The chief ministers greatest regret since the Nano drove away to Gujarat has been that most of his dreams regarding bringing back investment to West Bengal have come a cropper. The bitter tussle for votes between the CPM and the Trinamool Congress has seen drastic polarisation at the cost of industrial growth.
Still, Mr Rawats claim should generate some degree of hope. If minus the chemical hub at Nandigram, sans Singur or the flight of other major projects subsequently, Rs 5 lakh crore have indeed got invested in West Bengal, it is definitely a ray of hope for this beleaguered state.
It would also be an eyeopener to many in India Inc, where after Nandigram and Singur, West Bengals image as an investment destination has suffered a serious setback. If on the other hand, the Rs 5-lakh-crore figure represents the aggregate of slated investment to come, there are still miles to go.
The question that inevitably surfaces when one reads the figure play in the context of the states pathetic struggle for survival is: Where is the investment on ground
Mr Rawat did not offer a direct answer, but said Assocham would bring out a detailed note on Wednesday to prove its point. Notes galore have, in the past 10 years and more, been presented by the state government claiming investments worth lakhs of crores pouring in and MoUs getting signed. The people of the state are yet to see this mirage becoming reality . What instead have been seen is the flight of even those investments that were coming in at the behest of the chief ministers repeated requests to India Inc.
Mr Rawat also touched upon the crucial issue of land acquisition in the state which has made development of industries sluggish. Assocham feels that the state should play the role of a facilitator and the investor should directly deal with landlosers for buying land.
In fact, Assocham president Swati Piramal, chairman of Videocon group Venugopal Dhoot and others will meet the chief minister on Wednesday afternoon to request him to bring some changes in the states land acquisition policy so that the pending projects could be implemented.
Assocham also plans to organise road shows in other parts of the country for promoting West Bengal as a potential investment destination in the eastern region.

State sees Rs 5 lakh cr investment in 2007-10

ET KOLKATA




Wow! Look at the negativity in that "news" article. It's more like an opinion piece of than "real" news.

Another news item (http://beta.thehindu.com/business/Industry/article76271.ece) says this:

"The chamber also plans to release on January 7, a paper on the State’s double digit growth. Mr. Rawat said that proposals to the tune of Rs. 5-lakh crore had been received by West Bengal and domestic as well as international corporates were keen to locate their industries here. "

So they are definitely talking about "proposals" rather than actual investments.

Also investments worth thousands of crores don't really have that huge of an impact on public mind as it could be hundreds of miles away and provide employment to only a few hundred. That doesn't really mean investments are a "mirage".

Examples: Burnpur Steel (http://www.blonnet.com/2009/09/06/stories/2009090650980200.htm) is undergoing a Rs 1400 crore investment. It is projected to be completed by 2011.

Mitsubishi opened its second plant (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mitsubishi-inaugurates-second-phase-of-its-h/532568/) in Haldia last year at an investment of 1,920 crores.

Ural India's unit in Haldia was set up for Rs 550 crores (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ural-india-to-indegenise-russian-trucks-at-new-unit/233824/)

Mahabharat Motors (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/tvs-mahabharat-motors-join-hands_100238256.html) has set up its plant with a an investment of 150 crores in first phase.

Durgapur Steel has revived its expansion plans (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/durgapur-steel-plant-revives-expansion-plan/523504/).

Mackeil Ispat (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/mackeil-to-setrs-700-crore-forging-plant-in-durgapur/380487/) just invested 200 crores and will invest a further 700 cores.

Telcon is setting up a Rs 250 crore unit in Kharagpur although TOI reported that they may have second thoughts because of Singur / troublesome unions.

Tata Metaliks has started a ductile iron plant in Kharagpur recently. However further expansions/investments may not happen for lack of land.

I am sure there are many more such concrete examples.

In recent times, West Bengal has suffered huge setbacks thanks to Miss Mamata's lust for power (as a politician that shoudn't come as a surprise). She and her supporters are resisting setting up of power plants, ports, transmission lines, roads, housing etc. But there is hope. Mamata 2.0 is taking shape thanks to the media repackaging her for upcoming elections as being "investor" and "industry" friendly on paper (actions seem to speak otherwise) and daily dosage of foundation stone laying spree. So in the end we may have two leaders - Buddha and Mamata who don't seem to see eye to eye but who at least understand the importance of investment.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NC27zKvZN6E/Sl-shdaNIyI/AAAAAAAACvk/j-6UBhujMZY/s1600/THE%2BSONNET%2BKOLKATA.jpg


"Sonnet" gets ready for opening at Central Park, Salt Lake
photo cc arijeetb

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7683/sonnethotel.jpg

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Nice update ArijeetB........Thanks
The actual design is changed here.........Still looks good
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The Associated Chambers of Commerce of India wants to set up an entrepreneurship development centre in Bengal and has sought a 2,000 square-yard plot from chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday during a meeting.
An Assocham delegation met the CM at Writers’ Buildings during the day and discussed the industrial climate in the state. They presented to him papers on the industrial scenario in West Bengal. Assocham top brass also discussed its ‘willing buyer seller model’ of land acquisition with the chief minister. The CM, in turn, requested the chamber to submit a detailed paper on the acquisition model.
According to Assocham president Swati Piramal, “We wanted a land for an entrepreneurship development centre, and the chief minister has agreed.” The eastern region needs such a centre, she said. In this part of the country, especially in West Bengal, there needs to be more stress on link between research and development and the industry. There is also a lack of entrepreneurship culture, the reason why developing this centre is necessary.
The delegation presented a paper prepared by Assocham, which says that 1,000 projects involving an estimated investment of Rs 5.5 lakh crore is now in the pipeline for the state and 42% of the announced projects are already in the implementation stage — a record in the country.
But Bengal needs more industries like biotech, information technology, solar and renewable energy. Some ideas on food processing were also presented. The delegation also discussed the condition of healthcare, which is in need for improvement.
There was also a demand to consider music as an industry. Singer Durga Jasraj, who was part of the delegation, said many people who make musical instruments like sitar and sarod need patronage.

Source: TNN

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/179/orbitb.jpg (http://img301.imageshack.us/i/orbitb.jpg/)

ORBIT SKYVIEW---4 TOWERS---11 FL----200 FLATS

Call it a faint glimmer of hope on the Infosys front.
After a long lay-off, India’s secondbiggest IT company has found something right with the steps being taken by the state government to lure tech firms, signalling a change in mood about Bengal among one of India’s most respected firms.
On Sunday, Infosys — which had remained non-committal on Kolkata ever since the controversy surrounding the Kolkata IT Links venture last September — indicated that the move to allow IT firms to sell or lease out part of the allotted land for real estate activity was a step in the right direction and make more companies interested in setting up a presence here.
However, Infosys — whose results for the crucial October-December 2009 period are to be announced on Tuesday — pointed out that as far as it was concerned, it had no intention of putting any land provided by the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to use for non-IT-related purposes.
“Generally, a clause like this may give flexibility to a company and hence is a good move by the government,” Infosys MD S (Kris) Gopalakrishnan told TOI, when asked whether the state’s latest sop would make his company more interested in reviving its plans to set up a software development centre here. “In case of Infosys, we have only requested land for our own campus,” Gopalakrishnan added.
The latest statements by the Infosys MD assumes significance as even as late as November 2009, Gopalakrishnan had told this correspondent that “We have received the offer from the West Bengal government to schedule a visit. Since there is a slowdown and since there is no pressure on adding new infrastructure, we are not planning to visit immediately.” “We’re in constant touch with Infosys,” state IT minister Debesh Das said, while reacting to what Gopalakrishnan said on Sunday. Sources said the IT department has already written to Infosys about the kind of deal the state has entered into with Wipro and how a similar one could also be worked out with Infosys.
Incidentally, key officials connected with the state IT department feel the clause enabling companies to utilise land for commercial realty, if they wished to, played an important role in convincing Wipro chairman Azim Premji to give the go-ahead for the firm’s second facility in the city. Wipro is India’s third-biggest IT company, after TCS and Infosys. “The fact that Wipro has already paid the first instalment for the second facility has given us more confidence that the scheme proposed would find other takers also,” a key government source said.
While announcing the decision to arrange alternative land for Infosys and Wipro — following the scrapping of the IT Links project that was supposed to accommodate the tech majors — the chief minister had said he would personally intervene to ensure that the companies could go ahead with their Bengal plans.

Source: TNN

With Wipro accepting West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco)’s offer of 50 acres in Rajarhat at Rs 1.5 crore per acre, at least 50 small IT companies are said to have lined up to get a share of the land pie.
Of the 300 acres earmarked for the IT sector, Hidco has already distributed 288 acres among different companies. In view of the growing demand for plots in New Town, Rajarhat, Hidco is now planning to allot more land to the IT sector to attract more investment to the state.
Hidco managing director Saurabh Das said they have received applications from 50 small IT firms, which are keen to get land in New Town. “While the requirement of these IT companies is less than an acre each, 288 acres of the 300 acres earmarked for the information technology sector have already been distributed among various firms. A decision may be taken after some time whether more land will be earmarked for IT in New Town,” he added.
Besides Wipro, TCS is the other major IT company that has bought land in New Town — measuring 40 acres — at Rs 1.5 crore per acre.
Hidco has reserved around 10% of the total 3,779 hectares in New Town for commercial purposes and only 3.5 % for IT and IT-enabled services. Most of this land is in the planned central business district (CBD) of New Town.
The reason why IT companies are scouting for plots in New Town is that there is little space available in Sector V right now. Though around 300 cottahs comprising several small plots are still lying unutilized in Sector V, the urban development department has not been able to identify suitable land and start work on distribution of the same.
For now, Hidco has decided that no land will be handed over to any individual developer for real estate purposes. Commercial plots will be given only to joint venture companies tying up with Hidco. Officials said a policy is being framed on how to hand over commercial plots. “We are yet to start selling/distributing commercial plots on a regular basis. A policy is being framed on how these plots will be distributed,” a Hidco official said.
The policy would also specify the type of commercial establishments that could be set up on the allotted land.

Source: TNN

With Wipro accepting West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco)’s offer of 50 acres in Rajarhat at Rs 1.5 crore per acre, at least 50 small IT companies are said to have lined up to get a share of the land pie.
Of the 300 acres earmarked for the IT sector, Hidco has already distributed 288 acres among different companies. In view of the growing demand for plots in New Town, Rajarhat, Hidco is now planning to allot more land to the IT sector to attract more investment to the state.
Hidco managing director Saurabh Das said they have received applications from 50 small IT firms, which are keen to get land in New Town. “While the requirement of these IT companies is less than an acre each, 288 acres of the 300 acres earmarked for the information technology sector have already been distributed among various firms. A decision may be taken after some time whether more land will be earmarked for IT in New Town,” he added.
Besides Wipro, TCS is the other major IT company that has bought land in New Town — measuring 40 acres — at Rs 1.5 crore per acre.
Hidco has reserved around 10% of the total 3,779 hectares in New Town for commercial purposes and only 3.5 % for IT and IT-enabled services. Most of this land is in the planned central business district (CBD) of New Town.
The reason why IT companies are scouting for plots in New Town is that there is little space available in Sector V right now. Though around 300 cottahs comprising several small plots are still lying unutilized in Sector V, the urban development department has not been able to identify suitable land and start work on distribution of the same.
For now, Hidco has decided that no land will be handed over to any individual developer for real estate purposes. Commercial plots will be given only to joint venture companies tying up with Hidco. Officials said a policy is being framed on how to hand over commercial plots. “We are yet to start selling/distributing commercial plots on a regular basis. A policy is being framed on how these plots will be distributed,” a Hidco official said.
The policy would also specify the type of commercial establishments that could be set up on the allotted land.

Source: TNN

^^good news on the investment front, but I disapprove of these "small companies" building 15 storey towers on 1 acre. There are 25-30 or even more such tracts of 1-2 acre land in sector V where 10+ storey towers are coming up.

Aegis set to get 10 acres in city for expansion

ET KOLKATA


AFTER Wipro and Aditya Birla Minacs, it is Essar-controlled Aegis, which is on an expansion mode in Kolkata. Aegis Ltd is close to acquiring 10 acres of prime land from the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to set up an intergrated campus in Kolkata for an undisclosed sum. Aegis has decided to expand capacity and double headcount at its city operation to 6,000-plus from its present level of 3,000-odd ITeS professionals.
At present, Aegis operates out of a 1 lakh sq ft facility at Salt Lake Sector V. Moves are afoot to develop an integrated campus on an additional 10 acres near its existing unit over the next 12-18 months. Once the campus is up and running, Aegis teams in Kolkata will primarily handle outsourcing work in the telecoms, BFSI (banking, financial services, insurance) and healthcare verticals.
When contacted, Aegis managing director and global CEO Aparup Sengupta told ET: Weve recently given a letter of intent to the West Bengal IT department seeking 10 acres near our existing Salt Lake facility . The plan is to double our capacity and headcount in Kolkata from the present 3,000 to at least 6,000 ITeS professionals in the next 12-18 months.
Mr Sengupta, however, declined to reveal the price at which Aegis was likely to acquire the land. Price negotiations are on with the West Bengal government. We propose to implement this expansion model in places like Bhopal and Jamshedpur where Aegis has a presence, he said.
When contacted, West Bengal IT secretary Siddharth confirmed the development. Yes, weve just received a proposal from Aegis. They are extremely keen to make Kolkata their eastern hub. Aegis has sought 10 acres from the government, preferably closer to Salt Lake Sector V. But since no large tracts of land are available in Sector V, we are trying to identify other locations including Rajarhat, Mr Siddharth said.
Incidentally, the proposed Aegis BPO campus will include training centres, residential units and entertainment facilities . This is the third major IT expansion that the Buddhadeb government has received recently after Wipro and Aditya Birla Minacs .
The latest development comes at a time when Aegis BPO is slated to step up the total quantum of outsourcing work at its city delivery centre for leading companies in telecom, banking , entertainment and healthcare segments. Aegis handles outsourcing contracts for both international and domestic clients from Kolkata.
Aegis BPO is a subsidiary of Essar Global an international conglomerate operating in businesses like steel, oil & gas, power, communications, shipping & logistics and construction . It operates out of 40 locations across the world with a global employee pool of 39,000.

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Hi guyz....Today I saw a huge construction work is going on within the ITC Sonar Bangla premises.... I think this construction is for the ITC
Sonar II...... The giant structure is coming up at last......:cheers:
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Hi guyz....Today I saw a huge construction work is going on within the ITC Sonar Bangla premises.... I think this construction is for the ITC
Sonar II...... The giant structure is coming up at last......:cheers:
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please get and post a pix if you have a chance again. thanks:)

^^thanks for the update, rupakd:cheers: I am sure this would spur up the construction activity on the hotels front which has been moving at a snails pace or temporarily halted for the past year owing to several reasons.

Bengal taps Mittal for steel plant

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100113/jsp/business/story_11977916.jsp

I am in Kolkata for 2 weeks with free time and a digital camera:)
If anyone is free can join me,will take pictures of most of the important projects in kolkata and also if possible of rajarhat.

go avishar go..
kolkata needs you ;)

I am in Kolkata for 2 weeks with free time and a digital camera:)
If anyone is free can join me,will take pictures of most of the important projects in kolkata and also if possible of rajarhat.

Great news. Just one point - please make it a thread in Showcase Gallery.

I am in Kolkata for 2 weeks with free time and a digital camera:)
If anyone is free can join me,will take pictures of most of the important projects in kolkata and also if possible of rajarhat.

Thank you very much. That's the spirit. We appreciate your "josh".

We shall remain grateful to you for ever. Thank you once more.
:cheers:

I am in Kolkata for 2 weeks with free time and a digital camera:)
If anyone is free can join me,will take pictures of most of the important projects in kolkata and also if possible of rajarhat.

This initiative was required...ur initiation is appreciated...also do us a favor that once u r thru with ur photoshoot and also after uploading the pics...do provide us with the hyperlink...thanks

hope u have a wonderful and oborodhs and bandh free stay...enjoy:)

Thank you all,however its says i cant post attachments.Then how do i go about posting my pictures?