Not bad thats pretty tall. looks like around 15-F.

Omega, BIP

photo copyright Naveen

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9894/kolkatatowernaveenbiplaga5.jpg

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080105/jsp/calcutta/story_8743622.jsp

Godrej waterside
http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9858/92370043kr6.jpg
http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/3518/12yd1.jpg


Infinity IT SEZ
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/4207/sezhomeid7.jpg

Source: http://www.tcgre.com

First Intelligent place
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/60/kof01fip01fg4.jpg

First Digital Park
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/1964/kof02fdp01il4.jpg

Source: TOI Epaper (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T)


Facelift plan for Howrah station

Complex May House Multiplex, Mall, Hotel, Apartment & Office Blocks
Jayanta Gupta | TNN

Kolkata: In a few years, those visiting the Howrah station complex may well remark, “there is also a railway station in the premises”. If senior railway officers are to be believed, the complex will undergo a major overhaul. Apart from a multiplex and shopping mall, it may also have an office block and classy multi-storey apartment blocks overlooking the Hooghly as well as a star hotel.
The ministry of railways has plans to convert 21 stations across the country into worldclass ones. To start off with, the stations in New Delhi, Howrah and Patna have been selected.
British architect Terry Farrell, who designed Hong Kong’s Kowloon station and London’s MI6 headquarters, has been roped in to redesign the New Delhi station. According to a study, the area being developed in the national capital (which is only a quarter of the total property) is worth $2.5 billion or Rs 9,900 crore. Developers are even now bidding for a slice of the pie to build hotels, offices and shops, keeping in mind the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
“We’ll invite bids from global players for Howrah too. Separate consultants will look into the designing, financial and legal aspects,” said N K Goel, general manager, Eastern Railway.
He spoke of station complexes abroad, which have everything from kindergarten schools to supermarkets. “The Kowloon station is an example. There are flats within the complex, with schools, markets, clubs and other facilities for residents. There are also worldclass hotels near the station, which is linked to the city’s rapid transit system,” he said.
For this, the Howrah station complex will have to grow vertically. When asked whether the redesigned complex will have five floors, he said, “It may even have 50, depending upon what the designers think.”
With one of the stations of the proposed East-West Metro having been planned just next to Howrah station, it will take care of the MRTS part, officers think. ER has already made a master plan to shift suburban trains. A separate terminus for suburban services is expected to come up close by. This new terminus is expected to cost close to Rs 400 crore and will be connected to the main complex by moving pathways.
“At least Rs 7,000-8,000 crore will be required to develop Howrah into a world-class station,” a senior ER officer said.

Source: TOI Epaper (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T)

“It may even have 50, depending upon what the designers think.”



:nuts:

:nuts:

That is the only problem in Kolkata, the designers haven't been thinking big!! :hahaha:

Source: TOI Epaper (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIKM&login=default&Enter=true&Skin=TOI&GZ=T)

8000 cr?? This is more than 4 times the cost of modernizing the Kolkata airport

http://www.business-standard.com/iceworld/storypage.php?leftnm=8&subLeft=4&chklogin=N&autono=310011&tab=r

Cinema chains to expand presence in east India

This year, east India for the first time will witness major transactions by multiplex chains such as PVR Cinemas, Cinemax, Pritish Nandy Communications, Inox Leisure, Shringar, and Adlabs. In 2007, only a few multiplexes had expanded in West Bengal.

Kolkata itself has as many as 30 medium to big-sized projects lined up for commissioning by end-2008, and about 50 projects by 2010.

The Cinemax chain of multiplexes, a Kanakia Brothers promoted venture, is foraying into Kolkata with an estimated investment of Rs 45 crore and has identified five properties here.

Cinemax’s first 4-screen, 1,000-seater property in Kolkata that required an investment of Rs 10 crore, would be up and running in 2008.

According to Devang Sampat, vice-president for marketing and programming, Cinemax, the aim is to inaugurate one multiplex every three months. Cinemax also aims to set up multiplexes this year in Siliguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal.

It has also identified one property in Orissa. Pritish Nandy Communications too has set its sights on Kolkata and plans get into multiplex operations in the city. It is also in talks with directors to produce Bengali movies.

Pritish Nandy, chairman of the company, said recently, “We plan to have 10 screens up and running within the next 18 months. Over the years, we expect exhibition to contribute about 30 per cent to our total business.”

Targeted at the luxury segment, these multiplexes would be launched under the brand names Flix and Flix Grande, the latter being larger.

These ‘boutique theatres’ would either be standalone or located inside a mall.PVR Cinemas is foraying into east India and aims to set up 50-60 screens in seven to eight locations within the next 5 years.

Its first 8-screen, 2,200-seater multiplex would come up this year on Kolkata’s VIP Road, inside the shopping mall being built as an equal JV between Pantaloon Retail and the Kolkata builders’ consortium.

“We have plans to invest close to Rs 100 crore in Kolkata alone in the next 5 years, with a typical cash break even time of 3 years per multiplex,” said Pramod Arora, president, PVR.

PVR is also in talks with several mall developers at locations such as Rajarhat, Howrah, Siliguri and Durgapur in West Bengal and a few locations in Orissa.

Adlabs Cinemas aims to set up its first 3-screen, 1,050-seat multiplex at Salt Lake’s RDB Boulevard with an investment of close to Rs 5.5 crore. Adlabs would also revamp defunct single screen theatres at Siliguri, and Darbhanga in Bihar.

Shringar Cinemas, operator of the Fame chain of multiplexes, would set up nine more multiplexes at places such as in Kolkata’s South City Mall and Lake Mall, and in Howrah.

According to Shunali Shroff, head of corporate communications, Shringar, Fame would set up a six-screen, 1,425-seat multiplex in South City Mall, and a four-screen, 1,000-seat multiplex in Lake Mall, with an average spend of Rs 8 crore per multiplex.

Inox Leisure, with properties in Kolkata’s City Centre and Forum Elgin Road malls, and on Laden La Road in Darjeeling, aims to add 10 multiplexes in West Bengal by end-2008.

“By early 2009, we should have 11 more properties in the whole of West Bengal,” said Alok Tandon, COO, Inox Leisure.

It has 11 screens in West Bengal currently and would have 39 more by September 2008. Inox would spend Rs 2-3 crore per screen, depending on the property. The company would set up multiplexes at Kolkata’s Swabhumi and Panditiya, Rajarhat, Durgapur,

Barddhaman, Dumdum, Howrah, Haldia, Siliguri, and Kharagpur.

DCL Projects - Shree

Display use of very poor quality materials. Other day i visited 3 HIG towers and astronished ot see. Hardly an elevator works. It is of local made. Have any one hard of a elevator company named 'IBIJ' ..o maan its pathetic. MY friend bought a flat in tower 3 and is regreting now. Bath room fittings, Door locks, windows are real junk.
Now these guys talked about quality stuff for there new project named 'Malancha'.

Please do not fall prey. Again, Malancha is yet to get a Civil Aviation Clearance.
SO please be careful in believin any real estate devlp before investing.

Priojects next to city centre II in new town are toooooo closed. Looks so scary. How come authority gives permission of plans.

8000 cr?? This is more than 4 times the cost of modernizing the Kolkata airport

must be a typo..
should be around 800 cr

Source: Yahoo News (http://in.news.yahoo.com/080107/43/6pbq4.html)


Deccan to fly daily between Kolkata and Jaipur

By IANS
Monday January 7, 08:07 PM

Mumbai, Jan 7 (IANS) Budget carrier Air Deccan announced Monday the launch of its daily flights between Kolkata and Jaipur from Jan 15.

The flights will be serviced by Airbus-320 aircraft.

Deccan's acting CEO Ramki Sundaram said its new service between Kolkata and Jaipur would facilitate easy connectivity at affordable fares for corporate travellers and tourists alike.

He added millions of people travelling between these cities rely largely on trains, for which travel time is some 48 hours.

'With time being the primary consideration for increasing number of travellers, a direct flight in each direction will upgrade scores of people to air travel. It will also provide a great fillip to the growth of commercial and tourism activities between the cities,' he said.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080111/jsp/calcutta/story_8769466.jsp

Metro till Naktala in Sept.


LINE CLEAR: With a court case over land acquisition set to be resolved within a month, Metro Railway plans to make the Tollygunge-Garia link operational by July 2009. A Telegraph picture
Metro Railway will start running up to Naktala from September.

Metro Railway general manager U.C.D. Shreni announced this on Thursday, while addressing the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce.

“We plan to have the link between Tollygunge and Garia operational partly, at least till Naktala, by September 2008,” Shreni said.

The full link, till New Garia, will not be functional till June 2009, he added.

Trains will run up to Naktala at an interval of 20 minutes, with every third or fourth rake from Dum Dum making the full trip. Between Tollygunge and Naktala, the train will stop at Kudghat and Bansdroni.

The Tollygunge-Garia extension project, sanctioned in 1999-2000, has been delayed by two years following land acquisition problems near New Garia station. The delay has resulted in an escalation of the project cost from Rs 907 crore to Rs 1,032.8 crore.

“The court case related to land acquisition is likely to be resolved within a month. So, we have set July 2009 as the tentative deadline for making the full stretch operational,” said Shreni.

The authorities have decided to bring in seven more rakes to cope up with the rise in the passenger count — from four lakh a day to five lakh.

The new rakes will have “forced ventilation” and the carbon dioxide level inside the coach will comply with the international standards.

The rakes will have wider vestibules, photo-chromatic and UV-protected glasses in doors and windows, and a touch-screen computer monitor for the driver.

But those hoping for a comfortable trip in an air-conditioned coach, as in Delhi, will be disappointed. “We don’t have the provision to release the extra heat generated by the air-conditioners,” said Shreni.

Within a year, Metro Railway will replace its paper tickets with smart cards for regular passengers and tokens for “one-off” commuters.

“According to our estimates, around 75 per cent of our commuters will use smart cards. The rest will be issued tokens,” said a senior official of Metro Railway.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080111/jsp/calcutta/story_8769466.jsp

:cheers:

Source: The Hindu (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200801111340.htm)


New elevated railway terminal likely for Kolkata

Kolkata (PTI): With the Railways deciding to upgrade the 150-year-old Howrah terminus to international standards, Eastern Railway has sought a separate elevated suburban terminal to ease passenger pressure on the old building.

"We have developed the plan for a new suburban terminus and sent it to the Railway Board. We are waiting for the Board's approval," ER sources told PTI.

They said the new terminus would be set up on railway land near Salt Gollah, a few hundred metre north of the existing terminus. Earlier, there was a track connecting the area to the main line, but at present the line is defunct.

"As per the plans, the new terminus will be elevated to avoid surface crossing of the tracks on the Grand Trunk Road and Dobson Road. The ground floor area of the terminus would be used for commercial purposes," they said.

The new terminus will initially have five platforms each accommodating 12-coach trains, they said adding all the platforms would have both-side discharge facilities to avoid congestion.

Plans for the new terminus also provides for a connection to the old building. "This can be done either by extending the existing subway from the old building or constructing a moving pathway along the banks of the Hooghly".

Once the Railway Board approves the new terminus, ER authorities would move the state government for development of approach roads and other infrastructure for the new station, the sources said.

The ER presently operates 170 pairs of suburban trains from the Howrah terminus.

Source: The Statesman (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=185363)


Grant for revamp of Howrah sports stadium

Statesman News Service
KOLKATA, Jan. 10: Sports lovers in Howrah need not grumble anymore as the state government has sanctioned Rs 4 crore for the revamp of the Howrah sports stadium.
According to an official of the Howrah Municipal Corporation's sports department, the Howrah district magistrate was recently informed about the sanction of funds by the state government.
“We had sent a proposal early last year, asking the state government to provide proper facilities and better equipment for the Howrah stadium. It being the only sports stadium in Howrah if properly maintained important matches scan be held here. We has asked the government to sanction RS 9 crore for this purpose," the official said.
The Rs 4 crore has been sanctioned as the first phase of the sanction. Once the Howrah civic body utilises this amount for the revamp of the stadium, the remaining amount will be sanctioned by the state government.
In the first phase, HMC will take up the work of extending the gallery. At present, the gallery has a seating capacity of 8,000-10,000 people. The civic body is aiming at increasing this capacity to 20,000-25,000. “Work will start as soon as we receive the money in hand. Tenders will be floated and the revamp work will be carried out through a public-private-partnership. By March, we expect to start work for the first phase,” added the official.
Meanwhile, the civic body is spending Rs 25 lakh from its own funds to construct a commentary box, a Press box and a hall to hold Press conferences.
It is also installing equipment required for live telecast as well as flood lights for night matches. The Press box will be constructed right next to the existing clubhouse.

Some Good news !!

I sincerely hope our dearest "Bandh Didi" never reads this forum. Otherwise she will stop whatever little bit development happening.

from TOI ePaper


Finally, Infy sees light at end of Bengal tunnel
Sumali Moitra | TNN

Kolkata: The wait for Infosys to set up a facility in the state may be nearing its end.
“We received an interesting proposal from the West Bengal government 7-10 days back. It concerns a unit to be located at Rajarhat and which involves a private sector partner and the government,” Infosys director T V Mohandas Pai told TOI on Friday. “We have already seen the maps.”
However, Pai did not specify the exact spot the government had mentioned in its proposal. Infosys was being shown two sites, both of which fall in Rajarhat — one near Vedic Village and the other at Jagdishpur.
“We will sign a tripartite MoU in the not-too-distant future, clearly specifying that the government has to construct a road leading to the proposed site,” the Infosys director said. “We can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.”
Pai said company officials who deal with infrastructure aspects would soon visit the state to hold detailed discussions with the government. “As of now, we can’t give a timeframe within which the facility will come up,” he said.
State IT minister Debesh Das and IT secretary Siddharth could not be reached for comments. But S A Ahmed, special secretary to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, said: “We will ensure that Infosys can be accommodated in the state.”
Infosys, India’s second biggest software exporter, has been waiting almost two years for a 100-acre plot to set up a software development centre in Bengal. “Each year that slips by, a state loses out on a lot of opportunity. Like everywhere else, there is a lot of demand for jobs in Bengal,” Pai said.
The Infosys director said companies should be more vocal in their criticism of government actions if the need arose. “It’s a free society. There should be complete transparency,” he said. Last November, Pai had stirred up a storm in Kolkata by saying the slow pace of work within the state government was affecting the residents of Bengal.
Pai’s criticism had drawn an immediate response from commerce and industries minister Nirupam Sen, who had said the reason Bengal took more time for land acquisition was that the state government consulted all affected parties before taking a call on land buys.
In December, Bhattacharjee had assured Wipro chairman Azim Premji that the company would soon be provided land for its second campus in the state. Wipro has also been lobbying for 50 acres at Rajarhat for almost two years without getting a proper response.
Genpact buys Rajarhat plot
Kolkata: Pramod Bhasin, president and CEO of BPO leader Genpact, said on Friday that West Bengal is time-tested and ripe for investment, no matter what is said about its industrial ambience. The observation came as the company signed up for over 700,000 square feet of space for an infotech hub in Rajarhat.

Some Good news !!

I sincerely hope our dearest "Bandh Didi" never reads this forum. Otherwise she will stop whatever little bit development happening.

Well Mamata Bandhopadhyay learnt the art of calling Bandhs, leading violent protests, making inflammatory speeches and being irresponsible - from the commies. Unfortunately she is turning more ultra left than the current left. Which is bad for the state.

She had a lot of potential - she is one woman that the pompous politburo pees in its pants upon seeing. Unfortunately her chamchas (especially in some big media houses) have inflated her ego so much, that she has kind of lost it and has started thinking she will become the next CM by calling bandhs and indulging in violence. She has become a prisoner of her own personality and popularity. She cannot take on the commies with brawn power alone. She needs some brain power as well.

Genpact hub in state SEZ

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080112/jsp/business/story_8772523.jsp

Genpact will set up an IT hub in the state, its third largest in the country.

The company today signed an agreement with Unitech Hitech Structures for seven lakh square feet of space in the IT special economic zone being developed by the latter.

This campus will accommodate 6,000 people over the next few years.

Spread over 45 acres at Rajarhat, the IT hub is projected to create 44,000 direct and 1 lakh indirect jobs.

^^^and here is the facility where it is going to setup the hub
Source:tOI Epaper

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3007/getimagedllta1.png

^^^and here is the facility where it is going to setup the hub
Source:tOI Epaper

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3007/getimagedllta1.png

^^Infospace is awesome and I believe one phase will be over this year. Hope more and more MNCs invest in Kolkata since more than 20million sqft comes up in the next 3 years and also they would not create a fuss with land.:)

^^^
a few days back i read a stat in TOI which placed Kolkata in the upper league as far as space absorption is concerned..

^^ The demand situation for IT/ITES is strong and hopefully the supply of 20 million sqft in the next 3 years will put things in perspective

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/5489/kolkataofficespaceae9.jpg

Kolkata dwellers get what they deserve ........ paying price for keeping a communist party in power for 30 years

from TOI ePaper


Sloppy Govt Misses Funds Bus
The state government has not started work on a single major project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. This, despite Rs 3,000 crore from the Centre over the past two years
Swati Sengupta & Suman Chakraborti | TNN

Kolkata: It’s not just about a flyover. Or a drinking water project. With Kolkata bursting at the seams and more and more people moving in, urban planning holds the key to ensuring that the city’s infrastructure does not collapse in the years to come.
But futuristic plans — a ring road, new flyovers, light rail transit system — require a proactive administration. And there lies Kolkata’s problem. Despite crores from the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the state government has not been able to start work on a single major project — thanks to myopic planning, red tape and a funds crunch. While states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat have surged ahead, Bengal lags far behind.
So, how many projects are in the pending folder? The Rs 350-crore Park Circus-Parama Island flyover, a bus rapid transit system, the Rs 4,000-crore light rail transit
(LRT) system, the Rs 60-crore EM Bypass-VIP Road flyover from Ultadanga, the Rs 150-crore Vivekananda Road flyover, ramps on AJC Bose Road flyover, the Rs 50-crore Dunlop traffic interchange and the VIP Road-Jessore Road flyover at the airport junction. Work on the Barrackpore-Kalyani Expressway’s extension to Dum Dum, the extension of EM Bypass to Baruipur and the East-West corridor from AJC Bose Road to EM Bypass has also not started.
The Centre launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2005-06 to cope with rapid urbanisation. An elated Bengal government was all praise for the scheme mooted by the “friendly” Congress government. But two years later, not a single project in Bengal has seen the light of day. As a result, the Centre has refused to release the next instalment of funds unless work on the first phases is complete. Delhi has turned down the funds plea saying that a “comprehensive mobility plan” has to be submitted first.
A whopping Rs 3,091 crore was sanctioned by Delhi for 110 projects in Bengal. JNURM was launched in 2005, but Bengal’s first projects under the scheme got under way only in June 2007.
According to sources, sloppy work in processing tenders and detailed project reports — and the consequent delay leading to price escalation — have prompted the Centre to reject them. The paperwork for the projects has now started all over again.
There are excuses galore. “We were new to the projects and took time to go through technical details,” said P R Baviskar, chief executive officer of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Initially, the state government had selected 57 infrastructure projects. An estimated Rs 2,159 crore for projects in Kolkata and its surroundings was fixed, along with 131 projects in Asansol for Rs 1,529 crore. Later, the number was reduced to cope with the pressure, and 15 projects worth Rs 978 crore from Kolkata and 12 projects worth Rs 248 crore from Asansol were finalised. But even that target has not been met.
Urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya admitted: “I can’t deny we are lagging behind other states. We made loads of mistakes in technical matters and our projects were rejected repeatedly.” He reasoned that other states mostly chose projects for city outskirts, but since Bengal’s projects were planned for the core of Kolkata, there were delays in getting traffic and other permissions. KMDA also reasons that several projects got entangled in land rows, like the drinking water project at Dhapa.
The other major problem is money. While the Centre offers 35% funds for every project and states have to shell out the remaining 65%, the Bengal government has had a tough time so far in arranging its share of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore. Due to delay in executing projects, cost estimates have repeatedly gone up. “A project that used to cost Rs 10 crore a few years ago will cost more than double now. The more the delay, the more the cost escalation,” said secretary of the Development Employees Joint Action Committee P B Nag. This means the state will have to pay more from its own pockets than estimated earlier, as the Centre will not offer more than 35%.
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee recently said that the initial enthusiasm over JNNURM had died out. But his stinging remarks had little impact. Now, the Delhi-based Consulting Engineering Services has been appointed to prepare the comprehensive mobility plan that will show how traffic and transportation projects are integrated with each other. But it would take some more months for the plan to be submitted to the Centre.
VOX POPULI
The main problem is corruption. The money may be coming from the Centre but the benefits have not trickled down to the masses. Besides, some government agencies like PWD do not have the required technical skills to execute the projects fast Abhijit Sen | FORMER PRESIDENT, BENGAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
The Centre is repeatedly refusing to give the go-ahead to the projects as the state government is not submitting a comprehensive plan integrating all the projects. They are putting together the plans in a haphazard manner and without details Monideep Chattopadhayay | ARCHITECT AND TRANSPORT SYSTEM PLANNER Bengal has improved a lot over the past few years. We already have better roads and flyovers. I am hoping that in the next few years, the state will be able to complete the projects Locket Chatterjee | ACTRESS Kolkata’s development is suffering a serious setback. This is Bengal’s loss, while other states are doing well. Bengal has delayed projects from the beginning, and not agreed to the Centre’s terms and conditions Manas Bhunia | CONGRESS LEADER
We were new to the projects and took time in framing technical details. But work of many projects will begin soon —P R Baviskar | CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,KMDA
Cost of projects under JNNURM has repeatedly gone up due to delay and fault in paperwork. A project that used to cost Rs 10 crore a few years ago will cost more than double now. The more the delay, the more the escalation —P B Nag | SECRETARY, DEVELOPMENT EMPLOYEES JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE

Kolkata dwellers get what they deserve ........ paying price for keeping a communist party in power for 30 years

from TOI ePaper

^^Absolutely ridiculous:bash:Not willing to take ownership and quoting excuses

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Subhiksha-to-launch-multiple-stores-in-Kolkata/261567/
Kolkata, Jan 14 India's largest retail chain Subhiksha is likely to launch multiple stores at the same time in Kolkata from the middle of February as it has finalised the roll out plan for the city.

Constrained by 'physical snags', R Subramanian-owned Subhiksha has delayed the roll out plan by at least a year.

Though no one from Subhiksha was available for comment, according to sources, it has zeroed in on mid-February to roll out at least 17 stores here. The group plans to open 100 stores in Kolkata during the first phase.

The retail major, with the bachaat mera adhikar slogan, will be offering 9-10% discount in all of its city outlets. The Kolkata market for food and groceries is estimated at more than Rs 300 crore.

A typical 1,500-2,000 sqft Subhiksha store, which sells 90% of daily household needs, involves an investment of Rs 40-50 lakh. The retail chain is likely to invest more than Rs 50 crore during the first phase. Subhiksha has already set up a warehouse in Garden Reach.

The neighbourhood store, offering pharmaceutical products through its chains, has started making database for people and their medical needs. The detailed database contains information like a patient's requirement and monthly expenditure on medicine, medicine procurement pattern and whether he is covered by medical insurance.

While retail chains like Apollo Pharmacy and Frank Ross already have their presence in Kolkata, Subhiksha will be the first chain to announce discounts. It will also open the 24X7 pharmacy section on select locations.

It has also planned to issue Subhiksham card to patients offering discounts against memberships

^^Absolutely ridiculous:bash:Not willing to take ownership and quoting excuses

This one is a gem "We made loads of mistakes in technical matters". Wonder what kind of people are in charge of preparing the technical stuff? Shouldn't they along with the minister be fired?

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Subhiksha-to-launch-multiple-stores-in-Kolkata/261567/
Kolkata, Jan 14 India's largest retail chain Subhiksha is likely to launch multiple stores at the same time in Kolkata from the middle of February as it has finalised the roll out plan for the city.

Constrained by 'physical snags', R Subramanian-owned Subhiksha has delayed the roll out plan by at least a year.

Though no one from Subhiksha was available for comment, according to sources, it has zeroed in on mid-February to roll out at least 17 stores here. The group plans to open 100 stores in Kolkata during the first phase.

The retail major, with the bachaat mera adhikar slogan, will be offering 9-10% discount in all of its city outlets. The Kolkata market for food and groceries is estimated at more than Rs 300 crore.

A typical 1,500-2,000 sqft Subhiksha store, which sells 90% of daily household needs, involves an investment of Rs 40-50 lakh. The retail chain is likely to invest more than Rs 50 crore during the first phase. Subhiksha has already set up a warehouse in Garden Reach.

The neighbourhood store, offering pharmaceutical products through its chains, has started making database for people and their medical needs. The detailed database contains information like a patient's requirement and monthly expenditure on medicine, medicine procurement pattern and whether he is covered by medical insurance.

While retail chains like Apollo Pharmacy and Frank Ross already have their presence in Kolkata, Subhiksha will be the first chain to announce discounts. It will also open the 24X7 pharmacy section on select locations.

It has also planned to issue Subhiksham card to patients offering discounts against memberships


I wonder if the silly Forward Bloc, Trinamool, RSP, Maoist and CITU activists will allow this to happen

Next summer, you won't have to wait for a bus in the sweltering heat while going to work every day. Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is all set to introduce air-conditioned bus stops at some of the city's prime locations.
There were proposals to introduce changes in the bus stops, which prompted KMC to introduce the plan. The pilot project will be taken up at five prime locations, including Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Esplanade, BBD Bag, Rabindra Sadan and AJC Bose Road.

"We have decided to introduce AC bus stops since it will offer respite to passengers travelling in buses, especially in summer. Moreover, it will be something unique for the city as well. Several firms had placed their proposals and designs, which will be shortlisted soon," said mayor-incouncil member Faiyyaz Ahmed Khan. The need to portray a tourist-friendly image of the city to foreigners will be kept in mind while identifying the locations.


The AC bus stops will be maintained by KMC. "Initially, passengers won't be charged for using the facility. Around five to six seats will be available at each bus stop, while a limited number of passengers will also be allowed to stand within the AC enclosure. But guards will be appointed to regulate the entry. Beyond a capacity, entrance won't be allowed," added Khan.
The enclosures will be made of transparent glasses. Small television sets will be installed in one corner, in which the tentative arrival time of buses will be displayed. Even the bus numbers with their departure and terminal locations will be displayed. Charts tracing the bus routes and their stoppage points will also be available.

In some of the locations, existing bus stands will be dismantled to build the AC ones. "We will require around 200 sq feet to construct the AC bus stops. The project will only be taken up on wide pavements, where adequate space will be left for pedestrians to walk," Khan confirmed. Advertisement boards on the enclosures will generate revenue for KMC. Arrangements will be made for drinking water and even a telephone booth will be set up close by.

Plans are also being made to convert four bus stops in Kolkata into heritage shelters. "The bus stops in front of Rabindra Sadan, Alipore Zoo, Curzon Park and Raj Bhavan will showcase the heritage of the city," Khan informed

Eastern India's biggest shopping mall opens in Kolkata

http://sify.com/finance/equity/fullstory.php?id=14589447

Setting a benchmark in high-end retailing, South City Mall, touted to be the largest mall in eastern India, opened its doors here Tuesday.

Spread over one million sq ft, the South City Mall with 134 retail outlets spread over five levels, promises to create a shopping experience unmatched in the country.

The mall will have six anchor stores - Shoppers Stop over 83,000 sq ft, Pantaloons over 71,000 sq ft, Fame Cinemas - Kolkata's first six-screen multiplex at 60,000 sq ft, Starmark with a product mix offering books, music toys and gifts over 20,000 sq ft, Timezone, an entertainment area for children, spread over 14,000 sq ft, and Spencer's Hypermarket, the largest in the country spread over 72,000 sq ft offering 35,000 types of food and daily consumption items in the hypermarket, 10 per cent will be imported stuff, including 40 categories of cheese, 300 varieties of wine and a large range of cigars.

Total project value of the mall is estimated to be over Rs 650 crore. Leading consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj has identified it as a destination mall, which will be on the must-visit list for out-of-town visitors.

It will also contribute Rs 100 crore annually as revenue contribution towards value-added, service and entertainment taxes to the state and create more than 10,000 employment opportunities.

Eastern India's biggest shopping mall opens in Kolkata

http://sify.com/finance/equity/fullstory.php?id=14589447

^^Mall revolution in Kolkata at its peak :). It would also be interesting to observe the traffic conditions in the area once the south city towers are complete. The existing 4 lane connector may not be able to bear the burden

render

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/6922/medicasynergiemu9.jpg

500-bed speciality hospital in city soon

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/500-bed-speciality-hospital-in-city-soon/261942/

Kolkata-based Medica Synergie Pvt Ltd is setting up a 500-bed super speciality hospital on the eastern fringes of the city with an investment of about Rs 140 crore. The first phase of the project will have 300 beds.

Alok Roy, chairman and managing director of the company, said: "We have already acquired a 200-bed hospital in Asansol." The group also has plans to set up a hub and spoke model for the healthcare delivery system in the state.


http://www.medicasynergie.org/

Light Rail Transit, new Metro update

TOI epaper

LRT:

“We hope to finalize the formalities for LRTS before Durga Puja. Work will start in October-end, just ahead of the east-west Metro,” chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb told TOI on Thursday. Bhattacharjee had earlier told India International Trade Fair delegates “the LRTS project is final”.

Elaborating on the project, Deb said infrastructure construction firm SREI will build the 32.5 km elevated track from Joka in south to Panihati in north via Behala, Esplanade, College Street, APC Road, Shyambazar and BT Road. There will be 25 stations along the route. The government is keen to extend the project to Barrackpore.

European firm Amex will provide the Czech technology. The LRTS in Kolkata will be based on the system in operation in Prague.

The project had hit a hurdle last August when the Centre refused to clear it till the state prepared a comprehensive mobility plan for the Kolkata Metropolitan Area and justified the need for the project. The Centre’s nod is crucial to bag 20% of the project cost as part of the national urban renewal mission scheme.

“We had submitted a mobility plan, but the Centre asked for more details. Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation is preparing a comprehensive mobility report. It will be submitted in a couple of months, following which we can work towards finance closure,” Deb said.

SREI expects to complete the construction in 42 months and operate the light rail system for 40 years before handing it back to the government.

Metro:

On the east-west metro, Deb said, “Work on the 13.7 km from Howrah to Salt Lake Sector V will begin in December.”

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080118/jsp/business/story_8796815.jsp

Bengal seal on Dunlop tech SEZ

Calcutta, Dec. 17: The Bengal government has okayed Dunlop’s proposal to transform part of its Sahagunj unit in Hooghly into an IT special economic zone (SEZ) and recommended the proposal to the Centre for final approval.

Dunlop plans to carve out a 50-acre plot out of the 239 acres it has in Sahagunj.

Pawan K. Ruia, chairman of the company, said Dunlop would start work on the project after the Centre gave its approval. “This is a very positive development for the company. It will help in boosting Dunlop’s financials to a large extent,” he said.

The company plans to bring in a strategic partner to develop the SEZ.

Ruia has also approached the Bengal government to turn some of Jessop’s land in Burdwan into another IT special economic zone.

In Tamil Nadu, too, Dunlop has sought permission of the state government to convert 50 acres of its Ambattur unit into an IT special economic zone.

Light Rail Transit, new Metro update

TOI epaper

“We hope to finalize the formalities for LRTS before Durga Puja. Work will start in October-end, just ahead of the east-west Metro,” chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb told TOI on Thursday. Bhattacharjee had earlier told India International Trade Fair delegates “the LRTS project is final”.


If this is really done then Calcutta will again make a milestone like it has done in case of Metro rail, first of its kind in the country..

If this is really done then Calcutta will again make a milestone like it has done in case of Metro rail, first of its kind in the country..

^^Yeah lets hope so. Once the center is convinced of the state's potential to meet the budget and approves it it is good to go. I believe there is no land acquisition here since they will use the exisiting space.

Even if there is no land acquisition issue..The Great Didi of Bengal :bash: will find some reason to oppose it and will work overtime so that bengals development drive is derailed.

I seriously wish Bandh Didi is kept in dark of all the good things happening in Bengal.. she and her self centered politics is spoiling the entire growth of the state. Wonder why people still cant understand how she is playing with them..

I seriously wish Bandh Didi is kept in dark of all the good things happening in Bengal.. she and her self centered politics is spoiling the entire growth of the state. Wonder why people still cant understand how she is playing with them..

I think Bandh didi is a person who can brilliantly convince and confuse a vast majority of the people that has eventually resulted in a lot of support for her in all her thankless protests. During the Nandigram issue i was surprised by eminent people ending up as trinamul congress spokespersons:nuts:

Source: TOI Epaper

Work to begin on Ultadanga flyover

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Construction of the Ultadanga flyover will begin on Sunday. Mackintosh Burn, the public sector construction company, hopes to complete the Rs 68-crore project in two years.
“Construction of the 1,290-metre flyover, connecting E M Bypass with VIP Road, will involve minimum traffic diversions,” said P R Baviskar, CEO of KMDA, on Friday. A team of KMDA engineers will inspect the area on Saturday. “We’ll start work at the Salt Lake triangle on one side and VIP Road on the other,” said Debdas Bhattacharya, KMDA chief engineer.
The project, sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, would have started exactly a year ago, had the Centre not drastically reduced the project cost by Rs 55 crore when the detailed project report was submitted three years ago. Subsequently, the state government invited tenders seeking the minimum project cost but as the price of cement and steel shot up, the amount quoted by those who submitted bids was Rs 68.02 crore. Then, the government retendered the project and the minimum amount offered was Rs 90 crore.

Buddha is smiling if not laughing again.
Source: TOI Epaper


Investors happy with Brand Bengal image

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Business associations on Friday said the Calcutta High Court judgment on Singur will restore investors’ faith in Brand Bengal and open the floodgates for a greater inflow of capital.
“The state’s image will receive a boost and companies will no longer feel jittery about setting up shop in the state,” Assocham president and Videocon chairman Venugopal Dhoot said. Dhoot has been one of the biggest champions of the state’s industrial potential in the recent past.
“The HC judgment will restore credibility in the state’s industrialization drive,” CII eastern region chairman and JSW Bengal Steel joint MD Biswadip Gupta said. Tata Motors being able to carry out its work smoothly would send out a very strong message that the state is ripe for more investments in the automobile arena, he added.
However, Gupta said that having settled the land acquisition debate, the state should now concentrate on improving the lot of those whose plots were acquired in Singur. “The state has to discharge that responsibility,” he added.
Indian Chamber of Commerce senior vice-president Sanjay Budhia, too, said the judgment would encourage the companies that are still hesitating to set up shop in Bengal.
“2007 had been unfortunate for many reasons. But, 2008 should change the tide with Tata Motors rolling out the small car from Singur later this year,” he said.

SOURCE: TOIEPaper

KIT markets set for grand makeover
Swati Sengupta | TNN

Kolkata: Kolkata Improvement Trust (KIT) is now taking up a mega plan to breathe new life into its seven markets spread across the city, from Lake Gardens, Jadavpur, Kasba to Manicktala.
The starting point of the plan will be Jadavpur Market opposite Jadavpur University that houses 149 shops and 156 stalls including Coffee House.
Once this works out successfully, other markets, like the ones at Kasba, Manicktala, Prince Anwar Shah Road, two markets on Deshapran Sashmal Road and Lake Gardens supermarket, will be taken up.
Private companies will be roped in to change these markets into swank malls, which would not only fetch more revenue for KIT but also provide tenants with renovated shops. Urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya is expected to discuss the plan on Wednesday.
Shops and stalls were rented out to tenants at all the KIT markets, built in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. But KIT gets as little as Rs 50 per month as rent from each of them.
“Once the complexes are developed by private companies, KIT can earn revenue and we will go for a deal that benefits the tenants. Right now, we are preparing a complete report on the project,” said Ashok Mohan Chattopadhyay, KIT officer on special duty.
An urgent meeting has been convened to review the pace of progress this week. Though KIT officials visited Jadavpur Market recently to see how change can be brought about, a discussion with tenants will also be held soon.
“The complexes would be demolished and new structures will come up in their place. The vegetable and fish markets on the ground floor will also get improved, clean and hygienic spaces,” said Biswanath Sen, deputy chief engineer and the project supervisor.

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel company, is drawing up plans to set up a state-of-the-art R&D facility in Kolkata. The initiative, tightly under wraps at present, is being blueprinted. If it takes shape, it will not only give the steel company an address in Kolkata, but will also serve as a likely precursor to a more ambitious plan that the company has lined up to enter the rapidly-growing, lucrative business of engineering consultancy.

The full article is available at
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Indl_Goods__Svs/ArcelorMittal_may_set_up_RD_unit_in_Kolkata/articleshow/2716447.cms

An initiative or a mere publicity stunt.
Courtesy TOI


City poised for a big leap, track it with us


Exciting times are ahead for Kolkata. Putting behind years of lethargy and inactivity, the city is now poised for a big leap. The process of transformation has already begun and the changes are all too visible. New flyovers, swanky shopping malls, wider roads, multiplexes, satellite townships and an infotech boom have put our City of Joy firmly on the path of development.
But Kolkata hasn’t yet covered the entire distance. We’ve merely arrived at the last leg of the journey and the final stretch now lies ahead. Often, the process of change loses its momentum and a myriad stumbling blocks stall the march of transformation.
What we now need is the last push that will put the city in the big league. But for that to happen, we require a concerted effort from all quarters.
Starting today, The Times of India launches a Kolkata Next campaign that will celebrate this change and try to find out what needs to be done and what Kolkatans would like their city to be. Through a series of articles, we will review the growth, look into the future and reflect your opinion on the Kolkata of tomorrow.
So, it is now your turn to voice your demands, ask for changes, point out planning deficiencies and offer valuable suggestions. We’ll incorporate them in our articles and prepare a citizens’ charter that will be passed on to the departments concerned. And rest assured, we’ll keep track on your behalf of what the various government arms and developmental agencies are doing with regard to these demands. You, dear readers, have the right to know this and TOI will monitor the progress of your suggestions till they reach the stage of implementation.
You can email your thoughts and proposals to us or send them by post. We will also be seeking your opinion on various Kolkata-based issues for the My Times My Voice section. For more details on the charter, see Page 2. So, get ready to find out where our city is heading and play a part in taking Kolkata ahead. City Of Joy In Makeover Mood Clear The Congestion, Look Beyond Rajarhat, Say Kolkatans In A TOI-Synovate Survey
As we launch our Kolkata Next campaign, we sought citizens’ opinion on a range of critical issues concerning Kolkata. Issues that are key to the city’s growth and hence close to our hearts. The Times of India-Synovate survey reached out to Kolkatans who have been living in the city for more than seven years. They were chosen from different socio-economic backgrounds, age and income groups. And their responses were quite revealing.
The City of Joy’s modern makeover should now strive to conquer its outskirts as well — at least that’s what the citizens feel. Kolkatans are not too impressed by the authorities’ obsession with Rajarhat, which has long been projected as Bengal’s answer to Gurgaon.
It is time, the survey reveals, that the authorities looked beyond Rajarhat and started promoting other satellite townships. Kolkatans are also not averse to building rules being relaxed to allow more high-rises in Kolkata.
They would like to see less congestion on the roads, modern, faster trams, better looking buses and were even ready to pay a higher fare for them. Kolkatans have also ruled in favour of more toll roads in the city and a ban on parking in the busy areas. And a majority of the respondents felt Kolkatans were ready to move into the satellite townships.
Going by the opinion poll, Kolkatans seems to have had enough of traffic jams. They are in favour of a few radical measures to speed up vehicle movement and the poll suggests they are ready to shell out more to reach their destination faster. With the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) getting the nod, along with faster trams to replace the trundling rattletraps of now, commuting promises to be a much more pleasant experience.
But the clutter on the streets still worries Kolkatans. An overwhelming majority in the city have called for a ban on parking in selected zones. Congestion charge has been given the thumbs-up to ease the pressure on roads. And, perhaps even more surprisingly, price-conscious Kolkatans are ready to pay a higher fare to ride new, faster buses. They very much want to see the old, rickety ones junked.
The poll has also confirmed Kolkatans’ love for trams. While agreeing that the slow-moving Raj-era vehicles were a major reason for slowing down traffic, residents gave a resounding ‘no’ to plans to yank trams off the streets. The majority said they would like to see trams in a new, fast-moving avatar. They also called for a ban on auto-rickshaws on busy thoroughfares like AJC Bose Road, Gariahat Road , New Park Street, Rashbehari and Park Circus connectors and Beliaghata Main Road.
Kolkatans are satisfied at the pace of work to improve the city’s flyovers and roads but would like to see more of it. Greater use of public transport was also given a thumbs-up. Many of then feel private and government vehicles should be asked to pay for crowding the streets.

New Town Heights,Rajarhat - by DLF Group--> 30Fl, 27fl x 2, 23fl x 2, 20fl x 2, 17fl x 2
Website (http://dlf.in/wps/portal/homes?jspName=new_town_homes/overview.jsp)

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/6002/dlfnthbebigqd6.jpg


http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/2796/dlfnthelbigos1.jpg


http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/3499/dlfnthnvbiggb9.jpg


http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8116/dlfnthcpbigtu2.jpg


http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7813/dlfnthrajarhat2st0.jpg

^^ that is big! great find

Great find IU!

New Town Heights,Rajarhat - by DLF Group--> 30Fl, 27fl x 2, 23fl x 2, 20fl x 2, 17fl x 2
Website (http://dlf.in/wps/portal/homes?jspName=new_town_homes/overview.jsp)

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7813/dlfnthrajarhat2st0.jpg

Personally I am not a fan of these DLF skyscrapers which use classical and gothic motifs.

Source: TOI Epaper


JV deal for freight corridor wagon unit

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Tuesday was a redletter day for Brand Buddha. The state clinched an FDI to set up a wagon manufacturing unit. The wagons will cater to one of chief minister’s pet projects — the dedicated Haldia-Ludhiana freight corridor — for which he had lobbying hard with railway minister Laloo Prasad.
The foreign direct investor, Chicago-based FreightCar America, signed a joint venture agreement with the Kolkata-based Titagarh Wagons Limited at Writers’ Buildings in the presence of the chief minister. The US firm will have 51% stake in the company, which will build high axle-load wagons for the freight corridor.
“We have already identified 118 acres off Kalyani Expressway. The unit will start production by 2009,” said Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. The agreement was signed by Charles Magolskie, managing director, international division, FreightCar America, and J P Chowdhary, chairman, Titagarh Wagons Limited.
Magolskie said, “We are very happy to be here. We’re impressed with the quality of people working with Titagarh Wagons Limited. My company designs and builds commodity cars and flat cars. This joint venture will provide us
with the opportunity to participate in the Indian market.”
The chief minister said, “The total investment amount for the plant is being worked out. It will come up in phases.”
According to Chowdhary, the dedicated freight corridor may come up by 2012 “and by the time the freight corridor comes up, we’ll also supply our aluminium wagons for other railways”.
The chief minister said the company will coordinate with West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation to buy the land. The freight corridor project and the involvement of an FDI in it is a huge boost to the state’s industrial drive. Japan International Cooperation Agency was appointed for a feasibility study of the project following an agreement between the governments of Japan and India.
The parallel railway system was placed in Parliament in 2006. Laloo Prasad had announced the construction of a dedicated multimodal high axle load freight corridor on the Golden Quadrilateral highway and its diagonals with computerised control on the western and eastern routes. “The initial plan was to end the corridor in Bihar. But the CM wrote to Laloo Prasad and requested for a terminal at Haldia,” said Chowdhary.

i see it as more congestion for howrah

Source: TimesofIndia.com (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/Patna-Kolkata_Garib_Rath_flagged_off/articleshow/2722842.cms)


Patna-Kolkata Garib Rath flagged off

23 Jan 2008, 0332 hrs IST,TNN

PATNA: The country's third Garib Rath, the fully air-conditioned economy train, chugged off on the Patna-Kolkata route with railway minister Lalu Prasad flagging off the train (2360 Dn) at a function at Patna Junction on Tuesday.

Journeys on Garib Raths, incidentally, are cheaper with the railways charging approximately 70 per cent of the fare payable for journeys by other trains.

Apparently because of his pre-occupations, the minister did not address the function which, in fact, lasted for not more than ten minutes.

The 2360 Dn will run thrice a week from Patna on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It will depart from Patna Junction at 8.10 pm to reach Kolkata at 5.20 am next morning, thus covering the 523-km distance in nine hours and ten minutes.

The Patna-Kolkata Garib Rath is the third Garib Rath after the ones introduced on Saharsa-Amritsar and Patna-Delhi routes. However, the coaches of the Patna-Kolkata Garib Rath are slightly better. Also, there are more berths in the Sleeper coaches with three berths in the window side space, an innovation that has increased the coach capacity from 72 to 78 berths.

Besides, there is hot case facility in each coach of the Patna-Kolkata Garib Rath to make hot food available for passengers on order. According to Danapur PRO R K Singh, altogether 136 passengers (119 in Sleeper and 17 in chair car) travelled by the Patna-Kolkata Garib Rath during its inaugural run. The train has the load combination of 16 coaches, he said. Lalu also flagged off the Patna-Pune Express. This train, hitherto running bi-weekly, would run four days in a week now.

ECR GM Girish Bhatnagar, Danapur DRM B D Garg and other senior railway officials were present on the occasion.

Personally I am not a fan of these DLF skyscrapers which use classical and gothic motifs.

i echo u

Source: Business-standard (http://www.business-standard.com/search/storypage_new.php?leftnm=8&leftindx=8&subLeft=&autono=311431)


Kolkata cell units to invest Rs1000cr in 2008
Pradipta Mukherjee / Kolkata January 23, 2008
The telecommunication sector in Kolkata is likely to see investment in excess of Rs 1,000 crore this year as telecom service providers plan more cell-sites, retail outlets, and enhancement of network coverage.

Telecom operators are also on a hiring spree and are likely to add close to 1000 employees in 2008 in Kolkata alone for call centres and other back office support systems.

At present Kolkata has close to 70 lakh mobile users among a population of approximately 1.2 crore..........

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080124/jsp/business/story_8819829.jsp

Walton bets big on Calcutta real estate

Calcutta, Jan. 23: Real estate private equity firm Walton Street Capital is planning to enter Calcutta’s realty market.

Sourav Goswami, managing director of Walton Street Capital India, said the company was looking at two residential projects. “One of the projects will be in Rajarhat and the other within the city itself,” he added.

Walton Street Capital is bullish on the realty market in Bengal and Calcutta. “It is on everybody’s radar. All parameters are indicating strong economic fundamentals. I wish we had invested more before,” Goswami said.

The company had picked up a stake in a project to develop Hindustan Motors’ excess land in Uttarpara last September. It had also funded a Rs 600-crore project in 2007.

“We will announce three transactions in the next two months,” Goswami said. However, the city deals will not be part of the announcement.

Apart from the Hindustan Motors’ project, the company has picked up a 20 per cent stake in Shriram Properties, which is expected to launch an initial public offering later this year. Walton is also planning to launch an India-specific real estate fund.

On Hindustan Motors’ Uttarpara project, in which 20 million square feet will be developed, Goswami said work would start during the Pujas. A number of infotech and financial sector companies are interested in picking up space there. Besides Walton Street Capital, Starwood Capital Group and Shiram Properties are the two other partners in the project.

Emaar-MGF Land Pvt Ltd, which is bringing JW Marriott and Holiday Inn on the 6.24-acre Bypass plot it picked up for a record Rs 213 crore, is looking to further consolidate its hospitality presence in Calcutta and the East.

A joint venture between Emaar Properties PJSC of Dubai and New Delhi-based MGF Development Limited of India, the company is planning to introduce the Formule I brand and Premier Travel Inn hotels in the east. This is part of the group’s pan-India plans of rolling out 30,000 new hotel rooms by 2015.

Emaar-MGF has formed a 50:50 JV with Accor for the Formule 1 brand to build 100 hotels by 2015, and also tied up with PTI, part of Whitbread, “the UK’s largest hospitality brand”, to bring in 80 more hotels within the same timeframe. The market buzz is that the company has signed an agreement with Royal Calcutta Turf Club to set up and run five-star rooms on the RCTC’s Russell Street premises on a profit-sharing basis.

Emaar-MGF, planning to raise Rs 7,075 crore through an IPO, is also looking at a retail address in Calcutta by replicating its ‘Mall of the City’ retail concept already rolled out in Punjab, Hyderabad, Lucknow and west Delhi. The Mall of Kolkata will have large multiple anchors and multiplex screens, besides a host of F&B options.

According to sources, Emaar-MGF is also looking at two hotel properties in Shillong, and will expand to markets like Siliguri and Bhubaneswar, marking the group’s entry into the value segment in the region.

While Emaar-MGF is primarily in the business of development of properties in the residential, commercial, retail and hospitality sectors, it has identified healthcare, education and infrastructure as business lines for future growth, and Bengal features prominently in the roadmap.

Greenwood Sonata
http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi/residential/greenwood_sonata/index.htm

photo copyright Ruth

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/2183/shrachirajarhatruthyg6.jpg

Genexx Valley

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5395/genexxupdatessez7.jpg

Ideal Heights

Render

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4467/idealheightskolkatagv3.jpg

1
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/5061/stratus1idealheightskw0.jpg

2
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4845/nimbusidealheightsbk7.jpg

Sun..............nice update. its good that kolkata builders are thinking outside the box with some new designs & now just marely colorful stuff. nice heights too. kolkata needs it badly. these will look terrific behind howrah, hoogley bridges

Emaar-MGF Land Pvt Ltd, which is bringing JW Marriott and Holiday Inn on the 6.24-acre Bypass plot it picked up for a record Rs 213 crore, is looking to further consolidate its hospitality presence in Calcutta and the East.

Some more details from TOI epaper:

Real estate giant Emaar MGF Land is betting big on the city’s hospitality sector.

The firm — which has already started construction on two hotel projects in the city — has entered into an understanding with an affiliate of Hyatt International Corporation as part of which it will operate and manage a hotel in Kolkata under the Park Hyatt brandname. Construction of the Park Hyatt will start this year. The hotel would have 250 rooms.

Emaar’s arrangement with Marriott will see it set up a JW Marriott hotel in Kolkata, which will have 300 rooms, and be managed by Marriott India for 30 years initially. Construction of the luxury hotel has already started and the facility is likely to be operational in 2009-10.

As part of a management agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group (India), Emaar is supposed to build and fit-out an upmarket hotel under the banner Holiday Inn Bangla Kolkata. The hotel, which will have nearly 250 keys, will be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group for 15 years initially. Construction of this property has already started and the hotel is likely to open its doors in 2010-11.

Block by Block mall u/c

photo copyroght jasperjackcooper

http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/6985/kolkatamalljasperjackconj7.jpg

The market buzz is that the company has signed an agreement with Royal Calcutta Turf Club to set up and run five-star rooms on the RCTC’s Russell Street premises on a profit-sharing basis.


The firm — which has already started construction on two hotel projects in the city — has entered into an understanding with an affiliate of Hyatt International Corporation as part of which it will operate and manage a hotel in Kolkata under the Park Hyatt brandname.

Three Emaar hotels

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080129/jsp/business/story_8836836.jsp

Realty company Emaar MGF Land will invest between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 1,200 crore in three hotel projects in Calcutta.

There will be a 300-room JW Marriott and a 250-room Holiday Inn on the 6.24-acre EM Bypass plot by the end of 2010. It will unveil a 300-room Park Hyatt on the RCTC property.

The company is also planning integrated townships in and around the city.

The first of the lot is coming up on a 40-acre land along the Kona Expressway, with a built-in 100-room budget hotel and other amenities. Three more townships are in the pipeline.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080129/jsp/calcutta/story_8818224.jsp

Retail stop in alternative IT hub
- Bantala to get its shopping-cum-entertainment address in three years

Bantala, billed as an alternative IT hub to Sector V and Jagdishpur, will welcome its first dedicated retail address in less than three years.

Mani Square Bantala, a 500,000-sq ft “deep-discount” mall, is expected to be ready by 2010-end, according to Subesh Ray of Mani Group, the developers of the out-of-town shopping-cum-entertainment centre coming up on six acres inside the leather complex.

“We are delighted to be a part of Bantala’s development and this retail centre will have a clutch of factory outlets, cash-n-carry stores and sale of used cars. All these will be anchored around a large-format amusement park, including indoor entertainment and a budget multiplex,” adds Ray.

Toronto-based Design International, led by Mark Marshall, has designed the Rs 200-crore mall, while the developers are talking to a couple of firms in Dubai and Germany for the theme park at Mani Square Bantala.

“This will be a welcome development by way of putting in place support services for the new growth area and answering its retail need,” said Abhijit Das, the regional director of international property consultants Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj.

While the primary catchment of the mall will be the IT and residential consumers in the leather complex, the secondary catchment will keep growing. “Bantala will eventually come to border New Town, as land acquisition in Rajarhat picks up, thus swelling the consumer base,” says Das.

Mani Group is opening its flagship retail venture Mani Square on the EM Bypass, next to Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, on March 15. “We will do a soft-launch on February 25, by when we hope to reach a critical mass of around 60 per cent stores being functional,” points out Lou Armstrong, the CEO of Mani Square.

A “mega launch” is scheduled for April 15, with an international singer set to jazz up proceedings. Mani Square is bringing to Calcutta its first IMAX theatre through IMAX Corporation of Canada. The company is all set to bring its “largest, clearest and steadiest” pictures to the city after Hyderabad and Mumbai, along with its revolutionary, proprietary IMAX DMR (digital re-mastering) technology, which can transform virtually any 35-mm live-action film into the 15/70 IMAX frames.

Wipro - new tower

photo copyright teamdtp

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/167/wiprotowerteamdtpsma2.jpg


Wipro finds temporary solution to land hurdle

TOI epaper

Wipro has found a temporary solution to the land issue that has come in the way of its setting up a second campus in the city.

India’s third-biggest software exporter has decided to set up a plug-and-play facility on a 3.5 acre plot near its existing campus that would give it an additional 1500-2000 seats. This plot, which also belongs to the company, lies just across the street where its facility stands, and was originally supposed to be used as a training centre.

The Azim Premji outfit has already raised the levels of some of the buildings within its Sector V compound to seat about 1,500 new employees. “These initiatives will see us through calendar year 2008 and part of 2009,” Wipro Technologies president (enterprise solutions) Sudip Banerjee told TOI on Monday. Wipro presently employs nearly 5,000 professionals in the city, he added.

However, Banerjee said the company would be unable to grow beyond a limit unless land was provided by the government. “We remain hopeful (that land will be provided),” he said, while pointing out that the company was not taking any measures to acquire land directly. Wipro has petitioned the state for 50 acres near Kolkata.

Last month, Premji had received an assurance from state chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee that land for the second campus is likely to be provided soon.

Wonder which Unitech project is this one..

British firm to design several Indian townships

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/British_firm_to_design_few_Indian_cities_/articleshow/2739315.cms

British design firm Building Design Partnership has selected three Indian cities; Bangalore, Kolkata and Mohali to have a footprint in the country’s urban design space. Whereas it has already secured a contract from realty major Unitech to prepare a masterplan for a 300-acre township project in Kolkata, its foray into Bangalore and Mohali will be disclosed soon, BDP’s urbanism director Andrew Tindsley told ET. The forty six year old British firm works in the field of architecture, engineering, town and transport planning.

Mr Tindsley, however, refused to elaborate the terms and conditions of the Kolkata project with Unitech. “It’s just a beginning in Kolkata. We feel there are huge opportunities in India’s urban space. We would not like execute a work or two, and then go back. Instead, we would like to have a base in India for longer term project execution,” he said.

Source: TOI EPaper


State tops biz proposal list
Gets investment promises worth $31.8 bn in Oct-Dec 2007


Kolkata: Brand Bengal, take a bow!
According to an Assocham study, the state has bagged the top spot in attracting investment proposals during the third quarter of 2007-08, way ahead of traditional hotspots Maharashtra and Gujarat.
As per the findings of the Assocham Investment Meter (AIM) — which tracks investment announcements in different states — Bengal received proposals worth Rs 1,27,302 crore ($31.8 billion) during October-December 2007, more than two-and-a-half times that received by Maharashtra and nearly 20 times that by Gujarat during this period.
Assocham said Orissa occupied second spot on the list at Rs 53,997 crore and Maharashtra third at Rs. 47,393 crore. Tamil Nadu came in fourth at Rs 25,195 crore and Andhra Pradesh bagged fifth spot receiving proposals worth Rs 22,266 crore during the period under review.
The chamber study said Haryana only received proposals worth Rs 8,404.5 crore during October-December 2007, giving it the ninth spot. Gujarat managed even less at Rs 6,481.6 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal and had to be content with the 10th place.
Interestingly, a previous Assocham study for the period January-November 2007 had ranked Bengal third among Indian states in receiving investment proposals.
Of the total investments proposed in Bengal during the
third quarter of 2007-08, Assocham said the biggest chunk is in the power sector at Rs 20,450 crore. Steel came next at Rs 17,133 crore, followed by oil and petroleum at Rs 4,850 crore.
Leading the pack of potential investors during this period was Sail, which announced a plan to increase production capacity in Bengal. L&T Power Development underlined a blueprint to pump in Rs 20,000 crore in Haldia for increasing power generation capacity.
“As the investment climate in the Indian economy is favourable, mineral rich states with investor-friendly policies are drawing huge corporate interests,” Assocham president Venugopal Dhoot said.

Source : TOI EPaper

Emaar township near city
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Emaar MGF Land Ltd is planning to set up its first integrated township in the eastern region on a 30-acre plot near Kona Expressway on the outskirts of the city. The township will also house its budget hotel under the Formule 1 banner.
Emaar MGF chief operating officer Sanjay Malhotra said it will form a joint venture with a local company for the Kona Expressway project. However, he declined to name the partner, the likely shareholding pattern of both entities and cost of the project.
Emaar has already entered into a joint venture with AAPC Hotels Management Pte Ltd (Accor) for setting up budget hotels in India. The Formule 1 brand is owned by Accor.
Malhotra said Emaar intends to set up 100 budget hotels nationwide in the next 4-5 years at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore. Several of these facilities will be in the eastern region, including hotels at Siliguri, Bhubaneswar and Shillong.
“Construction work of the Park Hyatt on Russell Street will start this year. Construction of the other two properties on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass has already started,” Malhotra said.
These three hotels, two luxury and one up-market, would together have 800 rooms. The luxury hotels will be under the brand names — JW Marriott and Park Hyatt — and the up-market one will under the Holiday Inn banner.

Guys, I am new to this site. Got interested in property boom in Kolkata, when my cousin booked an apartment in Unitech. I saw in this forum that their customer service is not good. Is there any problem? Also, I am getting mixed information about Teenkanya by Bengal Shelter. Could anybody enlighten?

Three Emaar hotels

http://www.telegraphindia.com/108012...ry_8836836.jsp

Realty company Emaar MGF Land will invest between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 1,200 crore in three hotel projects in Calcutta.

There will be a 300-room JW Marriott and a 250-room Holiday Inn on the 6.24-acre EM Bypass plot by the end of 2010. It will unveil a 300-room Park Hyatt on the RCTC property.

From Emaar-MGF's website-

JW Marriott

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5031/marriotkolkataxu1.jpg

rendering can be confirmed from this ad:
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/6760/emaarmgfadzz5.th.jpg (http://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=emaarmgfadzz5.jpg)

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/ITeS/Alcatel-Lucent_keen_on_Kolkata_WiMAX/articleshow/2741851.cms

Alcatel-Lucent keen on Kolkata WiMAX

KOLKATA: West Bengal government has received a proposal from France’s Alcatel-Lucent to set up Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) network infrastructure across Kolkata. The state is also considering a proposal to make Kolkata a Wi-Fi hotspot enabling seamless wireless high-speed internet access for general public.

This apart, global consulting major Capgemini plans to expand city operations by developing a campus which will be one of their global ‘centres of excellence’. These proposals come at a time when a state IT department team, led by state IT minister Debesh Das and state IT secretary Mr Siddharth, is on Europe tour to attract investments.

Confirming the development, Mr Siddharth told ET from Germany: “We’ve had discussions with the senior management of Alcatel-Lucent, which is very keen to set up a WiMAX network in Kolkata. The state is also keen to make Kolkata a Wi-Fi hub. However, finer details are yet to be worked out with Alcatel-Lucent.”

Incidentally, Alcatel is already working with the Center for the Development of Telematics (C-DOT) in India to develop designs for cost-optimised WiMAX end-user devices. Alcatel-Lucent has identified India as a priority market for deployment of cost-effective WiMAX services across the entire value-chain.

On the other hand, Capgemini, which employs some 1,000-odd people in Kolkata, wants to set up a dedicated campus. “Capgemini’s Kolkata facility has grown at the fastest clip across all its global facilities. The company’s top brass showed huge confidence in Kolkata and wants to make this unit their ‘global centre of excellence’,” Mr Siddharth said.

The state IT delegation is touring Germany and had earlier met potential investors in Paris and London. In the London leg, Webel had organised an investors meet to hardsell the state. The government’s target audience included IT, ITeS and semiconductor firms. This includes venture capital funding for start-up VLSI firms as well as attracting potential investors such as MosChip Semiconductor.

deleted

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080130/jsp/bengal/story_8841090.jsp

Cabinet nod to UK civic fund
Calcutta, Jan. 29: The state cabinet today gave its approval for the formation of a fund to help municipalities implement development projects.

The primary objective of setting up the West Bengal Municipal Development Fund, with the help of the UK’s Department for International Development, is to provide soft loans at very low interest rates to civic bodies.

“Often, municipalities cannot start work because of shortage of funds. Now, they can take loans and kickstart their work at the earliest,” urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya said.

At the initial stage, the UK agency will provide Rs 82.67 crore and the state Rs 25.20 crore, the minister said.

The development projects will primarily include drinking water facilities, sewerage and drainage systems, construction of roads, truck or bus terminals and projects related to solid waste management, Bhattacharya said.

Bengal Infrastructure —the joint venture company of the government and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited — will manage the fund, the minister said.

“The company will look after the fund. It will also see to it that the money is used properly by municipalities,” he added.

Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka have similar funds. “We have followed the models of these states and hope that the municipalities will benefit from this fund and move ahead with their schemes and projects,” Bhattacharya said.

http://peanuts.aero/low_cost_airline_news/airline/7038/59/SpiceJet+launches+services+to+Bagdogra+

SpiceJet launches services to Bagdogra

SpiceJet launched daily flights from Bagdogra to Kolkata, Guwahati and Chennai and six times weekly from Delhi, from 29 January, 2008.


The airline is on a rapid expansion strategy and looking aggressively at new destinations to start its services. Bagdogra will be the 18th destination on the SpiceJet network.

COO, Samyukth Sridharan, stated, ""We have always focused on having a judicious mix of business as well as leisure destinations on our network and Bagdogra fits in very well with our network strategy. Considering the large number of tourists traveling to Darjeeling, Sikkim and Siliguri from across the country, we have connected Bagdogra to the existing gateway cities like Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata and Chennai."

From Emaar-MGF's website-

JW Marriott

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/5031/marriotkolkataxu1.jpg



looks good.

:cheers:

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=188099

No more dug up roads?

KOLKATA, Jan. 30: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) today inaugurated its first ever trenchless method (also called micro-tunnelling) of cleaning up of the brick sewers in the city along the APC Road Grey Street Crossing in north Kolkata.

The Rs 91 crore project which has been sanctioned under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission Scheme (JNNURM) will be undertaken by an Austrian firm ~ Angerlehner.

“This will be the first ever micro-tunneling project to be undertaken in the city if not in India. It will also solve the water-logging problems to a great extent,” municipal commissioner, Mr Alapan Bandopadhyay said.
He also announced that the KMC has decided on an incentive system for the very first time where bonus based on a pro-rata if work undertaken by the contractors is completed before the scheduled time. However, the same contractors will pay a monthly fine for delay in the completion of work, the commissioner said.

Under the new system of micro-tunnelling, the entire stretch of the road will not be dug up for cleaning of the sewers. Instead, a small four feet portion will be cut open. Jet suction machines will then be used to pick up the accumulated silt from the sewer lines.

Explaining the positive sides of micro-tunnelling, director general, planning and development department of the city civic body, Mr Nilangshu Bhusan Basu, said, “The traditional open-cut method increased risks of damage to the houses located near the sewer lines as an entire stretch of road was dug up. The micro-tunnelling method will reduce this risk.” He added that the civic body was planning to use close-circuit television cameras for deciding on the measurements and locations of the sewer lines. Meanwhile, city mayor Mr Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya said that the Centre has already sanctioned Rs 500 crore under the JNNURM scheme of which Rs 403 will be used for cleaning sewer lines through the trenchless method. The first part of the first phase of this project was undertaken today along a four km stretch from APC Road-Grey Street Crossing to Moulali. Simultaneous, micro-tunnelling work will start on a two km stretch from Colotoola Street-CR Avenue Crossing till the Surya Sen Street-APC Road at a cost of Rs 33 crore and another work would later be undertaken along the Rash Behari Road at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=188081

Videocon submits proposals for IT parks

KOLKATA, Jan 30: Videocon Group today submitted formal proposals to the West Bengal chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhallacharjee to set up technology and knowledge parks at Siliguri and Kalyani. The Videocon Group would require 500 acres of land both in Siliguri and Kalyani to develop the proposed IT parks.

“We are ready to buy the land at market price from the local people. I've told the chief minister that we will buy land directly", Mr Venugopal Dhoot, chairman Videocon Group said.

He said that the state government has offered 100 acre of land in Kalyani. Mr Dhoot further informed that the chief minister has also asked the company to develop the air-strip at Kanchrapara, lying abandoned, and they have agreed to his proposal as they have the required technology.
Videocon is also interest in construction of deep sea port and would participate in the bidding process, Mr Dhoot said
Asked about his proposed steel plant at Jamuria, he said that already 2000 acre of land has been bought from the people. The steel plant project, having a capacity of three million ton, would cost around Rs 1500 crore.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Nano_to_be_made_only_at_Singur_unit/articleshow/2744509.cms

Nano to be made only at Singur unit

KOLKATA: Tata Motors has dropped the idea of having multiple Nano assembling units. "As of now, the decision is to produce the Nano only at Singur," a Tata Motors spokesman said. "Initially, we will make 2.5 lakh Nanos yearly," he added.

The ancillary units coming up adjacent to Tata Singur factory had earlier said that Nano components would only be made at Singur. In the past, the plan was to make the Nano car from multiple locations, including Uttaranchal.

Tata Ryerson managing director Sandipan Chakravarty said the component facility for Nano will be in Singur only. "We are setting up a component facility in Uttarachal too, but that is for Ace," he said. The company is planning to invest Rs 100 crore for setting up a component facility in Singur.

Some more news on Videocon'd plan (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080131/jsp/bengal/story_8846143.jsp)

Big plans for small towns

Calcutta, Jan. 30: Videocon today proposed two knowledge parks in Siliguri and Kalyani and a satellite airport at Kanchrapara in Nadia.

Company chairman Venugopal Dhoot placed the proposals at a meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

The state government has approved the projects “in principle”.

Videocon will now come back with detailed project reports for each of them.

“We want 500 acres in both Siliguri and Kalyani for the knowledge cities that will have software and hardware facilities and educational institutes among other things,” Dhoot said after meeting.

He offered to take up an abandoned airstrip at Kanchrapara and build an airport.

The Videocon boss also expressed keenness to develop a deep-sea port, which Sajjan Jindal had proposed to build only last week.

His company is now building a biotech SEZ in Siliguri and a steel-and-power plant in Jamuria, near Asansol.

Videocon has acquired an Australian company with expertise in underground coal mining. The technology will be deployed in Bengal.

It will also partner an international company in the Rs 15,000-crore Jamuria project, which requires 4,200 acres.

The company is not averse to buying the land directly from owners.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/West_Bengal_plans_Hardware_IT_park_in_PPP_model_/articleshow/2746907.cms

KOLKATA: After scripting success in software industry, West Bengal has turned its gaze now on hardware as it plans to set up a hardware IT park at Rajarhat in public-private partnership.

The state's IT minister, Debesh Das, said here today that the government was attempting to draw investment in product segments of IT and the new park would have intregated several IT and telecom hubs at the same location.

The product IT park will come up in 150-160 acres of land and will house chip design intregated hub, wireless hub, telecom hub, animation and multimedia hub.

Das said that his visit to Europe to draw investment was fruitful in terms of meeting 50 companies based in the continent.

A follow-up meeting will be held in Kolkata during April-May where all the companies the delegation met would be invited.

Several IT companies had accompanied the minister during the European sojourn.

Das said among the many companies, one animation company has shown interest to invest in Bengal and one company has expressed interest in setting up a wireless hub.

Mani Square mall and IMAX is coming up nicely

http://i32.tinypic.com/2rhb9yr.jpg

Mani Square mall and IMAX is coming up nicely

http://i32.tinypic.com/2rhb9yr.jpg

^^ Is mani square along EM bypass ? What is the high rise in the picture?

Good that the expansion is going thru without opposition
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Spencer--s-Retail-to-invest-Rs-2500-cr/267887/

Kolkata, February 1: Spencer's Retail, part of the RPG Group, said it will invest Rs 2,500 crore to ramp up its total number of stores by 2010.

"We will invest Rs 1,000 crore by March 2009 and another Rs 1,500 crore by 2010," RPG Group Vice-Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said, while inaugurating a Spencer's hyper store.

Spencer's is a subsidiary of RPG's power company CESC Ltd, after the merger of Spencer's holding company with the power utility.

Goenka said he has not yet decided the route to raise resources for the expansion. However, the company was open to all options, including private placement and public offer.

He said Spencer's has achieved Rs 100 crore sales per month and this would go up to Rs 250 crore per month in 2008-09.

Currently, there are 400 Spencer's stores across 60 cities in the country with a total area of 1.5 million sq ft, which gets annual footfall of 48 million people.

The company plans to add 30 to 40 stores per month to take on the competition.

Spencer's Retail has several formats, Spencer's Express, Daily, Super and hyper depending on the location.

Other RPG's retail brand stores include, RPG Cellucom, Books & Beyond, and Music World. Total retail stores of RPG's retail brands is 630.

^^ Is mani square along EM bypass ? What is the high rise in the picture?

Yes it is on Bypass a couple of blocks north of Swabhumi/Stadium
The glass cladded (blue) building (mid to highrise) is the Mani Square/IMAX.

The lowrise pastel building to the left is the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital.

Yes it is on Bypass a couple of blocks north of Swabhumi/Stadium
The glass cladded (blue) building (mid to highrise) is the Mani Square/IMAX.

The lowrise pastel building to the left is the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital.

Thanks Sun.:) I am hoping they widen the bypass and free up intersections till Ultadanga as planned. With so many large scale developments planned along the bypass, failure to address future traffic requirements may prove to be costly.

Thanks Sun.:) I am hoping they widen the bypass and free up intersections till Ultadanga as planned. With so many large scale developments planned along the bypass, failure to address future traffic requirements may prove to be costly.

That's true. Not sure if the proposed flyover will help. Unless strict traffic laws are enforced, things will not improve. And that requires political will (something in very short supply except when it comes to bandhs and demos)- to rise above the "cholche cholbe" mentality.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080129/jsp/calcutta/story_8818224.jsp

Retail stop in alternative IT hub
- Bantala to get its shopping-cum-entertainment address in three years



Render from World Architecture News / Design International

http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/4604/manisquarebantala2xj1.jpg

Edencity is carrying out an advt campaign announcing their project. It's being billed as South Kolkata's largest housing project.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/534/edencityzz7.jpg

Kolkata West International City

photo copyright Rohit Nyss

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/6465/29102006004tw3.jpg

The 41 storey Unitech Air has started to rise

photo copyright Debashis

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/7617/unitechairdebashishg4.jpg

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Increase-metros-at-peak-hours/269242/

‘Increase metros at peak hours’

Kolkata, February 4 The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railway has submitted a few recommendations to the Metro Railway in Kolkata aimed at minimising their losses.

“We have suggested that the frequency of metro trains in the peak hours be increased from the existing seven minutes to five, so that more passengers are accommodated,” said chairman of the committee, Basudeb Achariya.

Achariya was speaking to the media after a review meeting held between the members of the standing committee and the officials of the Eastern, Southeastern and Metro Railways. He added that the committee had also asked the Metro Railway to conduct a survey on the Dum Dum-Dakshineshwar route for a possible extension of metro services on that line.

Metro Railway has been instructed to submit the survey report by February 12, so that it can be brought up for discussion in the upcoming rail budget.

Referring to the extension of the metro track from Tollygunge to Garia, Achariya said a lot of time had already been wasted in completing the 7.5-km stretch. “The original deadline was March 2007. Now, it is being said that the 5-km stretch till Pranabnagar will be complete only by June 2009. We have told the railway board to seriously look into the case against land acquisition pending in the Calcutta High Court and get the necessary clearance as early as possible,” Achariya said.

Regarding the proposed integration of circular rail services near the airport with the metro network, Achariya said though the Union railway minister and the railway board has already sanctioned the proposal, survey for the project had not yet commenced. “We have told Metro officials to start the survey,” he said.
The standing committee also expressed concern over some of the railway infrastructure projects in West Bengal that were far from completion.

These include the construction of a new line between Tarakeshwar and Bishnupur and a new line between Rampurhat and Mandarhi in Jharkhand. Only 35 per cent of the work on these lines has been completed, though funds were sanctioned long ago.

Achariya said Kolkata needed two-three more terminals to accommodate the increase in daily passenger traffic flowing in and out of the city.

Sun.................I like the way how Calcutta is doing in quietly. they started off with few mid 20s towers, then early 30s, then mid to late 30s & now this beauty pushing upper 40s. I was little disappointed with failure of diamond top tower to go up. But this is great great news. from here on, we'll see many many more mid 40s tower announcements soon. :cheers::cheers:

The 41 storey Unitech Air has started to rise

photo copyright Debashis

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/7617/unitechairdebashishg4.jpg

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/213283.php/Highest-investment-proposals-for-Bengal

Highest investment proposals for Bengal

Kolkata, Feb 4: According to a study by Assocham Investment Meter, despite sharp ups and downs during the last one year Bengal has received the highest number of investment proposals among all the States in the third quarter of current fiscal. A total of Rs. 1,273.02 billion investments have been received in the State.

'Brand Buddha is actually the cause behind this growth and industrialisation is happening very fast in the State,' said Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot in an interview.

According to Dhoot investment of Rs. 2000 billion in coming five years would generate jobs for at least 1 to 1.5 million people in the State. He also admitted that Nandigram impasse did not reflect much on the State's investment fate.

The Assocham study also revealed that during the same period Orissa was second in the investment list after Bengal. Orissa has received proposals of about Rs. 539.97 billion, Maharashtra has received investment proposals of Rs. 473.93 billion and Andhra Pradesh for Rs. 216.6 billion.

Dhoot said that West Bengal had been receiving investment proposals mainly in steel, power and cement.

He said that 10 billion Jindal Steel Project, which is apparently the biggest steel factory in Asia, is coming up at Shalboni which would create a massive job opportunity in the State. He also added that his company Videocon is also coming up in the state.

Amidst all these 'Pros' for the state there are 'cons' too. Many investors are still not very happy with the political structure and work culture of the state. Lacking work culture is affecting the IT industry in the State.

The CEO of Limtex Infotech, Gunjan Poddar said that despite superb workforce and cheap labour the Bandh culture of the state had been affecting the IT industry very much.

Mittal in the city

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080121/jsp/nation/story_8806214.jsp

We have to do something in Bengal: Mittal
http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff132/SarafIndian/21writersmittal1.jpg
Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with L.N. Mittal at Writers’ Buildings. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

L.N. Mittal, the president & CEO of ArcelorMittal, spoke to The Telegraph in Calcutta on Sunday. Excerpts follow.

You are back in the city after three-and-a-half years. What is the first impression?

I feel very nostalgic whenever I come here. Calcutta is changing. The city looks cleaner. Lots of flyovers have come up. The roads have improved. You know I drove? When I got off from the airport last evening, I felt like coming back to my place. I told my driver that I will drive. I drove from the airport to Alipore. I could not resist.

Normally, I don’t drive during the day. It’s not safe. It was my son-in-law’s old Mercedes. I drove through the circuitous way through Rajarhat, then to Park Circus and took the flyover to Race Course and then Alipore. It was not difficult. I kept one car (which followed) in case I get lost. But I didn’t. (Laughs)

It’s good, you know. When you come to town and feel like driving — (it) talks about the quality of life. Traffic has improved. It’s more disciplined. People are not crossing the road everywhere. That is the first impression.

You went out today (Sunday), too?

Yes. I went to Salt Lake for some function. I went to St Xavier’s College, sat in my class which is Room No. 13. I was very emotional. St Xavier’s really taught me a lot. When I went to the college, I never thought I will come back there after 39 years. I never visited it again.

You love this city. But somehow you have not invested in the state and in Calcutta so far?

That’s very unfortunate. I feel very sad that I have not been able to make investments in the state as yet. I am telling my guys to explore opportunities here. We are going to set up an office. We have to do something here.

An ArcelorMittal office?

Yes. It will be an engineering office. It will be an engineering office space. Hundreds of engineers will work. We have to do something here.

Bengal has been seeing big investments in steel. But you are planning to set up large plants in Jharkahnd and Orissa. Is there a possibility that you could do some downstream unit here?

Quite possible. Quite possible. I don’t rule out the investment opportunity. We were going to send our team to study. Once we will have our office, a base, then they will scout for what opportunity is there to set up a processing unit. We want to do something. So, let us see. There could be old, closed-down coal mines. We may look into them. I will speak to the chief minister and find out if the government has any idea.

You are getting into oil and gas. Bengal is developing a chemical hub at Haldia. Would you be interested?

I don’t know what kind of opportunity is there. We have a joint venture with HPCL for building a refinery at Bhatinda. I was talking to (Union) petroleum minister Murli Deora the other day. He was telling me about it. I will see. We will ask our joint venture team to study. We are also doing a refinery at Visakhapatnam. We have to see if there is any extension to that.

Are you happy with the progress of steel projects in India?

I wish we could do it faster. We have committed $25 billion in two projects. We are very eager to kick off. We have spent a lot of resources already. Many of our people, drawn from all over the world, are here, doing work, readying the right technology, product mix, layout. After doing so much, I really want the actual groundwork to start. Only then there will be momentum. I really wish it is faster.

These projects will come up only when there are iron ore linkages. I really get worried that every state government is signing so many MoUs. They are getting hundreds of applications, signing in dozens. It should not become volume of MoUs… the state governments should choose the right partner. They should take only those who they believe will complete the steel projects.

Our commitment is strong. I am very excited personally about the projects, if I can bring ArcelorMittal to India being an Indian passport holder, an Indian citizen.

Which of the two, Jharkhand or Orissa, will come up first?

I don’t know. Someday, I see Orissa is ahead, the other day Jharkhand moves ahead. It’s like a seesaw. We are fully committed to do both projects. Situation is not clear. Whosoever works faster, gives linkages and approvals, we will start the work.

Have you set any target for yourself for these two projects?

I don’t want to do that and feel frustrated and disappointed all the time. I told my guys to work, be focused. Don’t look at others.

There has been a comment that only those companies that have greenfield experience should be given preference on mine allocation when it comes to new projects…

See, when we were fighting for ArcelorMittal merger, there were many comments. These comments have no meaning to me. These do not deter our conviction. Those came out of people’s ignorance about us. We are focused on the work. Everyone knows ArcelorMittal is the most experienced steel company of the world. We have the best technology and management. We have done so many projects across the globe. No one can deny this that there cannot be any better partner for the state or the country than ArcelorMittal.

Does such comments make your conviction stronger?

These do not excite me. I ignore them. That’s what I have done in the past.

What if you do not get Chiria iron ore mine in Jharkhand? Does that mean the project is off?

We have to make the investment sustainable and viable. We need resources for that. All should be available. We can’t do such investment and not have iron ore and other infrastructure like rail, water etc.

How long will you wait?

Everyone likes us to come, be it at the Centre or state. There is a desire. I could see there is a commitment from the central government and the Prime Minister. As an investor, I can say that no single company has made such big commitment, $25 billion, apart from our oil and gas business.

What is your vision in oil and gas?

We want to take small steps, not go fast. It all started with how to help India get energy security. This came up during one of our meeting with former oil minister Mani Shankar Aiyar. We are working in many countries where oil is there. So I wanted to do something. The catalyst was India’s energy security. We now have something in Nigeria, Kazakhstan. This is not priority for us.

A few years back, you said the world should have a few companies with 100 million tonnes. Your group has touched 100 million tonnes, but others are yet to cross 50 million tonnes.

For ArcelorMittal, volume is not important. We want to create value in every sphere, in mining, technology, product development or distribution. That is the focus. But if we could get opportunity to add more capacity, we will do it. But we don’t want to add capacity for the sake of it.

Fortunately, after we merged, lot of companies are inspired to become 100 million tonnes. They are taking steps in the direction of consolidation. I see a momentum.

You are often mentioned as the richest Indian on Earth. What does this enormous wealth mean to you?

Well, I consider wealth is a means to create more wealth for all stakeholders of the society. To grow our business and create wealth for everyone associated with that.

Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080206/jsp/business/story_8868463.jsp

Calcutta, Feb. 5: Jupiter Solar Power Ltd, a subsidiary of Jupiter International, will invest Rs 1,000 crore over the next three years to set up two photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing plants — one near Calcutta and the other at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh.

The company has tied up with Germany’s Centrotherm for technical collaboration. The German partner may also pick up a stake in the company later.

Jupiter International managing director Alok Garodia said the Calcutta facility would be set up in the second and third phases at an investment of Rs 740 crore.

The company is in advanced stages of finalising a 25-acre plot for the unit.

In the first phase, a 30MW solar cell plant will be set up in Baddi at a cost of Rs 150 crore.

The Calcutta plant will start from September 2009.

I was little disappointed with failure of diamond top tower to go up. But this is great great news. from here on, we'll see many many more mid 40s tower announcements soon. :cheers::cheers:

The Diamond Tower may still be in the pipeline because it still shows up in the builder's website as a proposed project.

project update

The Empire

http://theempire16a.com/

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/1781/dayelevationnj0.jpg

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/7725/cstatus3ra7.jpg http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/6016/cstatus1wr6.jpg

Unitech

photo copyright Bong at unitech google group

1
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2416/unitechbong2wa5.jpg

2
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2776/unitechgardensdowntownbcu4.jpg

Sun..............Wow!! Wow!!! where have you been hiding these images :cheers:. These towers are like almost 20-F now & barely got any coverage here. This shows how much calcutta is ahead of Hyd & B'lore in fast skywards construction.

Unitech

photo copyright Bong at unitech google group

1
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/2416/unitechbong2wa5.jpg

2
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2776/unitechgardensdowntownbcu4.jpg

From http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080211/jsp/calcutta/story_8887836.jsp

High road trio to airport
- Upgrade spurt and projected passenger count trigger flyover flurry
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080211/images/11zzflybig.jpg
A road revamp plan is being chalked out to supplement the Rs 2,000-crore modernisation of Calcutta airport, which took off in January.

“Post-upgrade, there will be a significant increase in the passenger-handling capacity of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, triggering a four-fold jump in traffic. A plan has to be worked out to ensure smooth flow of vehicles to and from the airport,” said S.P.S. Bakshi, the project director in charge of airport modernisation.

The road revamp scheme is being drawn up by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Once finalised, the proposal will be placed before the state transport department.

“We are calculating the project cost and will hold talks with transport department officials after that,” said Bakshi, a former chief general manager of the National Highways Authority of India.

“We will look into the proposal and work on it,” said transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury.

As part of the revamp, the AAI will propose an elevated corridor from Belghoria Expressway to the VIP Road-Rajarhat New Town Road crossing, with an interchange for an independent access to the airport. The access road, too, will be elevated to ensure that vehicles to and from the airport are not caught in snarls.

“The Jessore Road-VIP Road stretch between Belghoria Expressway and the airport connector is narrow and always in the grip of snarls. The elevated corridor will help ease the congestion,” said an official.

On the new link, Bakshi said: “There is a vacant plot near the Rajarhat New Town Road and VIP Road crossing. The interchange can be built there and joined with the extended Belghoria Expressway.”

A second plan is to build a flyover from the crossing of VIP Road and the airport connector to the new terminal building. “The building will have its arrival terminal on the first floor and departure terminal on the ground floor. The flyover will be aligned with the arrival terminal,” the official said.

The AAI will also propose the setting up of underpasses and overpasses at the VIP Road-airport connector crossing and extension of the North-South corridor till the New Town crossing.

The transport department, on its part, is planning a four-lane flyover from Chitpur to the Lake Town-VIP Road crossing. “Vehicles from the south will have an easier access to the airport through the flyover,” the official added.

“Since the airport is being upgraded to global standards, the access roads, too, need to be world class,” asserted Bakshi.

Around 6,000 vehicles — private cars and taxis — now come to the airport daily. After the modernisation, the figure is likely to be 24,000.

The annual passenger handling capacity of the two terminals is six million. Once the integrated terminal building becomes operational, it will jump to 20 million.

“The Jessore Road-VIP Road crossing cannot cope with the present traffic load. Vehicles hardly move during peak hours. The situation will get out of hand after the modernisation if the road capacity is not increased,” said an official. The Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild has written to the transport department, seeking a solution.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Bengal-airport-developer-woos-Boeing-for-maintenance/271400/

Bengal airport developer woos Boeing for maintenance

Kolkata, Feb 10 After Nagpur in Maharashtra, it is West Bengal that may be on the radar of Boeing as it looks for another maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in the country.

While the US aerospace major declined to respond to a mail in time for this report, Partha Ghosh, director of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd, developers of Durgapur Aerotropolis, said he has spoken to civil aviation ministry officials in this regard.

“We are talking to several partners for possible tie ups regarding MRO facility”, he said.

According to sources in the industry, Boeing is eager to set up regional spokes or centres for its Nagpur hub. The aviation giant has bagged a huge order from India, which includes a combination of 777s, 787s and 737s aircraft.

Meanwhile, Changi Airport Authority of Singapore has shown interest in the Durgapur aerotropolis. “If Changi comes then there is a possibility of Companies like Boeing getting tagged along,” said Ghosh.

From http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080211/jsp/calcutta/story_8887836.jsp

The good thing is that AAI is at least thinking.

The bad news is that either the journalist or the AAI has come up with plans which don't seem right.

A second plan is to build a flyover from the crossing of VIP Road and the airport connector to the new terminal building. “The building will have its arrival terminal on the first floor and departure terminal on the ground floor. The flyover will be aligned with the arrival terminal,” the official said.

Don't airports usually have departures at first floor and arrivals in ground? Why will Kolkata have it in the reverse order?

The transport department, on its part, is planning a four-lane flyover from Chitpur to the Lake Town-VIP Road crossing. “Vehicles from the south will have an easier access to the airport through the flyover,” the official added.

Vehicles from the south??

__________

From the diagram, the elevated road from airport to VIP doesn't look useful. It will end up in the bottleneck near the Airport hotel.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Airlines__Aviation/Kingfisher_Training_Academy_launched_in_Kolkata/articleshow/2777362.cms

Kingfisher Training Academy launched in Kolkata

KOLKATA: In a bid to tap growing aviation industry at 30 per cent, Kingfisher will start a training institute for cabin crew and other professionals in the industry, hospitality and customer care services which would go onstream from April this year.

Executive Vice-President of Kingfisher Airline Rajesh Verma said today that nearly 800 to 900 candidates would be trained annually in Kolkata under one year and six months diploma course with a fee of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh respectively.

The KTA already has such an institute in Mumbai. The first session of the Kingfisher Training Academy, the airline's training division, would begin in April, he said.

Candidates with 10 plus 2 background and above 18 years of age would be eligible for admission.

The Academy would have two units in the metropolis -- one on Park Street and the other in Salt Lake.

photos copyright Debashis

Not sure which project in New Town

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2491/ambienceanotherinternatxw5.jpg

SP (Shapoorji) Infocity site

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1190/23spinfocityon6lanerajaov5.jpg

Public Sector Employees coop housing - this one BHEL

http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7242/8brandnewprojectcomingupc0.jpg

The Westin, Calcutta

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9763/westinkr6.jpg

The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat

Located in a prime spot in Rajarhat, the new central business district of Kolkata city, The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat will refresh and renew visitors to this dynamic city. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal and the regional hub for companies operating in the northeastern region of India. The hotel will be a key part of an eight-acre, mixed-use development consisting of hotel, offices, residences and retail shops. The Westin hotel will be housed in a tower that will soar more than 1,000 feet into the sky, giving the new development a high degree of visibility.

The new Westin will offer 323 guestrooms, including 31 suites, as well as five restaurants and bars, more than 21,000 square feet of meeting space, Heavenly Spa by Westin, an outdoor swimming pool, WestinWORKOUT gym and business center.

Can this be Kolkata's first concrete supertall?

Posting relevant snippets from

Three new Westin hotel properties for Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata (http://www.inrnews.com/realestateproperty/india/hospitality_industry/three_new_westin_hotel_propert.html)
INRnews
Singapore, November 29, 2007 - Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc (NYSE: HOT) continues its aggressive expansion in Asia Pacific, announcing agreements to manage three new Westin hotels in three of the fastest growing markets in India. In Hyderabad, the biotechnology hub of India, Westin will open The Westin Hyderabad, Mindspace. The second new addition - The Westin Pune, Koregaon Park - will be in Pune, an emerging destination for banking and financial services. The third hotel - The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat - will be in Kolkata, the commercial and trading hub of India. The Westin hotels in Hyderabad and Pune are scheduled to open in 2009, while The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat will open in 2010.

The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat

Located in a prime spot in Rajarhat, the new central business district of Kolkata city, The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat will refresh and renew visitors to this dynamic city. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal and the regional hub for companies operating in the northeastern region of India. The hotel will be a key part of an eight-acre, mixed-use development consisting of hotel, offices, residences and retail shops. The Westin hotel will be housed in a tower that will soar more than 1,000 feet into the sky, giving the new development a high degree of visibility.

The new Westin will offer 323 guestrooms, including 31 suites, as well as five restaurants and bars, more than 21,000 square feet of meeting space, Heavenly Spa by Westin, an outdoor swimming pool, WestinWORKOUT gym and business center.

Their official website (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3274) gives more details:
We look forward to welcoming you to The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat in the capital of West Bengal. Our gleaming hotel will form part of a modern mixed-use residential office, hotel, and retail development in a prime location in Rajarhat on Kolkata's northeastern outskirts. We will also be within one kilometer of the proposed International Convention Centre, due to open in 2011.

So the building is definately mixed use.


Regarding the convention center, I had posted renderings of this (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=482640&page=9) a while back. It is designed by RMJM for a 'confidential' client:
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4457/ccc1el7.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/5677/ccc2ef7.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/518/ccc3ck2.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4633/ccc4fb4.jpg

My searches to find the architect of the tower has turned up nil.

The way the facade is, I can't even guestimate a floor count..

Hindustani - thanks for the Westin Render. can you please include the reference as well?

It does look like the second render of CP Kukreja's Shristi Hotel (the site seems to have some kind of virus - so cannot access). The New Town site didn't seem to have any activity when I saw it last year. I wonder if they will get permission to go 1000 ft. From the render it looks like 35-40 storeys.

Jai - the convention centre is being built by a consortium which includes Unitech. I had posted a picture of the site some time back in the showcase gallery.

This is the link to the Westin Render

http://www.goldarths.com/Current_Affairs/post/2007/12/Three-New-Westin-Hotels-For-Starwood-In-India.aspx

The Regent expands to Kolkata

http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com/detailNews.aspx?aid=505&sid=1

The Regent Resorts & Properties Pvt Ltd is all set to open its new four star property in Kolkata.

On the expansion drive, Ravi B Parikh, Director, The Regent Resorts & Properties Pvt. Ltd, says, "We have been running our four star property for about nine years now and have gained enough expertise to run more properties. We want to come up with a chain of hotels across India."

The upcoming four star Kolkata property will have 67 rooms with three food outlets, a banquet hall and a business centre along with all the possible modern facilities. "Among the outlets, one will be a speciality restaurant serving continental, oriental and Indian spread, while the other two will come in the shapes of lounge bars. The banquet hall is slated to have a capacity of 350-400 people," adds Parikh.

The Westin, Calcutta

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/9763/westinkr6.jpg

Cool render:cheers:. However it does not look like 1000 ft from the render. With this design, even if it towers to 50 floors (¬175m) it would look awesome for a long time....

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8963/12022008349yx7.jpg?s=1

10 Towers each of G+13 floors

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/903/12022008351hg9.jpg?s=1

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7480/12022008350dx9.jpg?s=1

^^

cool updates arijeetb!

Wohhh!!!.. So many updates with lots of nice pics!!.. Thanks to all..

:cheers:

I got in touch with someone from Starwood hotels through that # given on that Westin-Kolkata webpage. He gave a link to the press release by Starwood hotels and there may be some bad news folks.

clicky (http://www.starwoodpressclub.com/index.php?id=34&no_cache=1&L=5&tx_swpress_pi%5Bnid%5D=4161&tx_swpress_pi%5Bcmd%5D=single)


The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat

Located in a prime location in Rajarhat, the new central business district of Kolkata city, The Westin Kolkata, Rajarhat will offer travelers to the city a refreshing new option. The hotel will be part of a larger 8 acre mixed-use development consisting of hotel, offices, residences and retail shops. Given the unique design and 100 meter height of Tower A which houses the Westin, the structure will be a significant development within Rajarhat and have a high degree of visibility. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal and the regional hub for companies operating in the north eastern region of India.

The hotel will feature 323 guest rooms, including 31 suites, five restaurants and bars, more than 21,000 square feet of meeting space, Westin’s Heavenly Spa®, an outdoor swimming pool, Westin WORKOUT gym and a business center.

I am going to call some official later today to clarify the height. lets hope for the best.

Statesman News Service (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=191449)

Rane unit at Singur

KOLKATA, Feb. 18: Auto component manufacturer, Rane Group, is setting up a manufacturing facility at Singur to supply component to Tata Motors for its Re One lakh wonder 'Nano'. The group will pump in Rs 20 crore for the plant.
Addressing a Press conference here today, Rane Group chairman, Mr L Ganesh said that the facility would come up at five acres of land at the vendor park, adjacent to Tata's plant. "Construction for the unit, which is expected to provide direct employment to 350 people, will begin shortly and it will be operational in six months", he said. Three out of seven group companies of Rane will be involved in the plant while the initial investment will be done by Rane Madras Limited, a Rane Group company.

I got in touch with someone from Starwood hotels through that # given on that Westin-Kolkata webpage. He gave a link to the press release by Starwood hotels and there may be some bad news folks.

clicky (http://www.starwoodpressclub.com/index.php?id=34&no_cache=1&L=5&tx_swpress_pi%5Bnid%5D=4161&tx_swpress_pi%5Bcmd%5D=single)



I am going to call some official later today to clarify the height. lets hope for the best.

100 m height sounds reasonable for a 30 storey tower.


Best of luck with the call.

Best of luck.

:banana:

Business-Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=8&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=314215&tab=r)

IT sector to add 20,000 jobs in 2008

Pradipta Mukherjee / Kolkata February 19, 2008

The information technology (IT) sector in West Bengal is likely to see addition of 20,000 jobs in 2008.

The state currently has about 300 small to big sized companies and employs 55,000.

IT majors like Zensar Technologies, HCL, IBM, Cognizant, PWC, Capgemini, Wipro, Genpact, as well as the IT department of the West Bengal government, have lined up investment in excess of Rs 5,000 crore this year in setting up new centres and offices, coupled with manpower addition.

According to the companies, factors like excellent resource pool of highly skilled manpower, supportive business environment and low operating costs, have motivated them to escalate investment and operations in this part of the country.

Interestingly, a recent study by brokerage firm Edelweiss Securities estimated nearly 40 per cent rise in fresher salaries on IT firms over the next two years as multinational companies (MNCs) are planning to add over 1 lakh personnel in India by 2010.

Global IT companies will add around 1.08 lakh employees in India by 2010, by increasing the headcount to 2.73 lakh. This would be a 65.25 per cent increase from the 1.65 lakh employed by the end of 2007.

According to Ganesh Natarajan of Zensar Technologies, it is looking at land in Kolkata to set up a 1000-people unit here.

"We have about 4,100 people in all. We are now looking at land in Kolkata, Jaipur and Indore to set up base," said Natarajan.

IT and technology company HCL is looking at setting up a 1000 people unit in Kolkata.

HCL recently bagged 1.5 acre for Rs 1.8 crore in Kolkata.

"The centre would be up and running by 2008," informed Ajai Chowdhury, chairman and chief executive officer of HCL.

HCL, which has 5000 employees in India right now, plans to employ about 1000 at its centre in Kolkata.

HCL's Kolkata centre is in sync with its plans to set up regional bases all over India, w ith local employees, to cater to places in and around the area.

HCL's Kolkata centre would be a system integration centre and would offer consultancy services.

With new services and sectors opening up, Cognizant Technologies is also looking at doubling its employee strength and even opening new offices to tackle more clients and contracts. It is setting up a new centre at Bantala in West Bengal over six acres.

Cognizant's employee strength will be increased by about 15 per cent. It has about 4,500 employees in Kolkata at present.

Genpact, which manages business processes for companies, will employ 7,000 people in Kolkata, making it the company's third largest centre after the national capital region (NCR) and Hyderabad.

Genpact recently signed an agreement to acquire more than seven lakh square feet of space at Infospace, an IT/ITES special economic zone (SEZ) being developed by Unitech Hitech Structures.

Genpact started its operations in Kolkata in September 2004 and currently employs around 700 people.

Genpact has recently also been allotted 12.145 acre by the Orissa government.

Wipro BPO would add 500 recruits in Kolkata in about six months from now.

Centres like Delhi and Pune had over 3000 people, while Kolkata had approximately 2900, and Mumbai nearly 5000 employees.

Kolkata as a centre grew at 100 per cent over last year, according to V Anandkumar, vice president, people supply chain and employee branding, Wipro BPO.

At the same time, Wipro Technologies, which has about 100 employees in Kolkata right now, plans to recruit 15,000 software professionls in its proposed development centre at Bhubaneswar. Besides, the company also proposes to set up a Global Training Centre (GTC) in Bhubaneswar.

The construction of the centre is expected to be completed within 2008.

The proposed GTC in Bhubaneswar is expected to provide training facility to about 3000 persons.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the largest professional services companies in the world, expects India revenues to double in the next four years on the back of multinational companies (MNCs) setting up shop in India as well as Indian companies looking at expanding overseas.

At present Indian clients contribute 40 per cent to PWC's overall revenues earned by its advisory services while non-advisory revenues from Indian and overseas billing are split around 50:50.

Doubling of revenues would also mean an increase in PwC's manpower strength in India.

PwC's overall manpower strength in India is around 4,500 right now and this would be doubled in the next four years.

PwC's consulting business has about 800 employees right now which will also be doubled.

PwC's Kolkata centre has about 2,000 employees.

Capgemini Consulting India Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of France-based Capgemini, has taken up 50,000 sq ft in the DLF IT hub in New Town Rajarhat of West Bengal and will eventually consolidate its city operations from that centre.

In the first half of 2007, the Calcutta operation of Capgemini experienced a growth of 70 per cent. Capgemini also plans to raise its employee strength from the current 17,500 to 40,000 by 2010.

In its past 18 months, Calcutta has touched a headcount of 500 and is expected to soon touch a workforce of 900.

The headcount of the parent company, Capgemini, a consulting, technology and outsourcing firm, stands at 80,000, which it aims to take it to 110,000 by the end of the decade.

According to Gautam Mukherjee, director of Capgemini Consulting India, the company is looking at recruiting 30,000 employees by the end of 2008.

If the company significantly exceeds its current recruitment target, it would be second to IBM, which had around 53,000 employees in the country at the end of last year.

At the same time, the West Bengal government is trying to move up the value chain and make the state a chip fabrication hub in future. According to Debesh Das, the state IT minister, West Bengal is trying to work out ways to attract various chip designing companies to set up offices in West Bengal's 'India Design Centre', the 1.5 acre, Rs 400 crore project scheduled to be operational by 2008.

The West Bengal government has already invited chip giants such as Intel, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Cadence, Synopsis and Sequence to work at the centre.

"The Indian Design Centre would throw open employment opportunities for close to 7500 professionally qualified people," Das added. In the present scenario, there are close to 130 chip design centres in India of which 67 per cent are based in Bangalore.

Business-Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=8&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=314215&tab=r)

^^20K is a decent number which can only increase yr on yr. However, some of the numbers in the report are either wrong or contradictory.

^^20K is a decent number which can only increase yr on yr. However, some of the numbers in the report are either wrong or contradictory.

I agree. Actually, recruitment in IT partially depends upon the ups and downs of the global IT market and future prediction. So, it is quite difficult to mention the exact number. Correct me if I am wrong.

Industries are bad...all they do is pollute. The Green Plains of Bengal will soon become dirt brown.

Unless, we buy lands in other states where dirt brown is in the plenty!!!

Btw, I really like that convention center...is it only in the planning phase? I would like to see them getting started on it as soon as possible.

I guess the convention center is in u/c phase in Rajarhat. :)

100 m height sounds reasonable for a 30 storey tower.

Best of luck with the call.

Best of luck.

:banana:

you sound like Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielson) from the film Airplane. :lol:

Anyways, I called this lady in their PR department in Singapore and the phone kept on ringing. Tried again after some hours and still no one picked up. I left a message so lets see if she calls me. I'll call her up again today.

Greenwood Park Extension

1
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/1061/gpe21ey7.jpg

2
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/2883/gpe2uo5.jpg

3
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9767/gpe13jp5.jpg

I spoke with a press person of Starwood Hotels and she said that the Westin hotel will be occupy floors #12-37 of one of the towers. She wasn't sure about the total # of floors in the building but she said she'll find out and email me.

She also said there will be 3 towers coming up on the property.

Very nice pics. They are doing very well. Also, thanks to Sun and IU for their efforts.

:cheers:

http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206800534

IBM shows interest in Indian prototype fab

BENGALURU, India — IBM Corp. has shown interest in setting up a prototype fab in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata designed to help fabless chip companies test designs before committing to expansive foundry production.
The prototype fab is likely to have facilities for chip characterization, and may be able to provide 45-nm process technologies for prototyping purposes. Currently, chip design firms here have no choice but to use foundries in Taiwan and elsewhere is Asia to test chips, a lengthy and expensive proposition.

The prototype fab would cost about $50 million. While IBM has met with officials from West Bengal, no plans have been finalized, said Debesh Das of West Bengal's Ministry of Information Technology.


The West Bengal government is competing with other Indian states to attract software and hardware companies. It is planning a $120 million India Design Center. The prototype fab will be a part of the center. The fab may be financially supported by the state and federal governments. More importantly, West Bengal is trying to draw Indian and overseas fabless chip design firms by offering financial incentives, Das said.

The 150-acre design center will include incubation centers, chip design and EDA tool development companies and the prototype fab. It also will offer various incentives, such as subsidies for training and for capital expenditures. Interest incurred in financing a start-up also would be subsidized.

Many potential chip design startups are deterred by the high costs of EDA tools. The state information technology department would provide software tools to these firms on a rental basis. A separate fund to encourage startups would be debt-financed. The government would hold an equity stake in such start-ups.

"The overall aim is to have the entire ecosystem for semiconductors in West Bengal," said Das. The Indian Institute of Technology, known for its strengths in VLSI design, could also offer a post-graduate course at the Center.

Hectic construction activity is seen in most parts of Rajarhat.

Greenwood Sonata ( ~ 10 towers of 15 floors each) should be complete by this year.
The convention center is coming along well over a large area
DLF IT park is yet to be fully leased out
Two blocks of Infospace IT park are nearing completion.
A 6 lane flyover (bridge) starting from near the Infospace IT park and crossing a canal is complete, however there are no connecting roads on either side
Bengal Ambuja, Uniworld city, agarwal constructions and Hiland Woods are in various stages of construction
Block by block construction is coming along well.
Terminus Mall construction has started
A Bengal Peerless project is under construction in New Town near DLF IT park

The entire Rajarhat arterial road is being relaid with the New town stretch completed and parts of action area 3 completed. Other than this no other road is currently in motorable condition.

No signs of DLF New town heights, Synthesis business park, Vedic hotels, Rosedale gardens, Sankalpa New town etc

No signs of DLF New town heights, Synthesis business park, Vedic hotels, Rosedale gardens, Sankalpa New town etc

Rosedale project work is going on. They have started giving updates on their website.

http://www.rosedalenri.com/project_update.htm

Vedic Hotels is probably the Westin.

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Eden Lakeside projects going to be great.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/4633/20022008367ke0.jpg

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8035/20022008368aa0.jpg

^^

Looks cool.

The construction of the new Jubilee rail bridge seems to be going on

photo copyright JoyForever

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/741/jubileebridgeconstructihh2.jpg

Nice sun, could you able to find any plan/data about the bridge? I mean length/architecture etc..

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=1&subLeft=6&chklogin=N&autono=314494&tab=r

Kolkata will see at least 40 restaurants, fast food chains and coffee joints in 2008 with an estimated investment of close to Rs 30-40 crore.

Restaurant chains like Yum Brands, Coffee Pai, Subway, Flurys, Oh!Calcutta, Mainland China, Marco Polo, and several first-time food chains, will nearly treble retail presence in the city this year.

Yum brands-owned Pizza Hut, which currently has about two outlets in the city, will set up three new outlets this year – two in Rajarhat at City Centre II and The Terminus mall, and one at Sector V.

The Sector V outlets are expected to open by March this year while the Rajarhat outlets are targetting the Durga Puja season.

Pizza Hut serves over 300,000 customers every week in India, informed company officials.

Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC too will open a 70-seater restaurant at New Empire which will be the first KFC in the country run by specially-trained, hearing impaired employees.

KFC will also open five more outlets in Kolkata by end-2008, again at The Terminus mall and City Centre II in Rajarhat, and two others in south Kolkata.

Among coffee joints, Café Coffee Day, the coffee chain owned by Bangalore-based Amalgamated Coffee Bean Trading Co, plans to open around 15 outlets in the city in 2008, in Salt Lake's Sector V, South City Mall, and in other locations, at an average investment of Rs 25-30 lakh an outlet.

Coffee Pai, the vegetarian restaurant in the city, will open two more outlets in Homeland Mall and at Samilton Hotel.

Popular sandwich chain Subway, which opened its first restaurant in Kolkata in 2005, also plans to open around seven restaurants in 2008, in locations like Dalhousie, beside Ruby General Hospital, in South City Mall, and in other locations.

Flurys, the popular restaurant on Park Street, has opened an outlet this year in the South City Mall and plans another in Rashbehari in south Kolkata.

The much-awaited South City mall will also see four speciality restaurants offering Indian, Chinese, Spanish and Thai delicacies. It will house a 4,640 sq ft Thai eatery 'Benjarong', 'Zara' and 'The Spanish Tavern', among others. Blue Foods will host the food court with 13 different cuisines from India and abroad. Spread over 30,000 sq ft, Foodtalk will host brands like Café Coffee Day, Kookie Jar (4,000 sq ft), and Subway.

Mainland China too has opened shop in South City spread over some 10,000 sq ft.

'Sigree', an Indian restaurant, will open a 5,165 sq ft outlet in South City.

The recently inaugurated Silver Arcade on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass too will see a 100-cover Oh! Calcutta and a 180-cover Mainland China.

The popular restaurant Marco Polo which serves Continental, Indian and Chinese foods, will open a new Marco Polo Pot House, a high-end lounge bar in Salt Lake's City Centre this year

NDTV Profit (http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/02/21092343/West-Bengal-hardsells-Kolkata.html)

West Bengal hardsells Kolkata to semiconductor industry

After rolling out the red carpet for software and IT-enabled services firms, West Bengal is now wooing the semiconductor industry by offering a basket of incentives and concessions.

"Just as we have opened up to the software sector of the IT industry, we are gearing up to attract investors, entrepreneurs and firms in the hardware sector, especially in chip and product design and IC (integrated circuit) engineering services, embedded software and manufacturing of electronic products," Debesh Das, the state's IT minister told.

"We are building a 20-floor dedicated facility at Salt Lake in Kolkata for locating incubation centres, start-ups, software and hardware development centres and electronics manufacturing units."

The Rs.1 billion (approx $25 million), 275,000 sq ft facility promoted by Kolkata-based Infinity Intech Parks Ltd will be ready for occupation over the next 18-24 months in phases.

"Besides state-of-the-art infrastructure with all utilities, the state government will offer seed capital and training subsidy of Rs.20,000 for every employee retained for a stipulated time."

"As a special economic zone (SEZ), the facility will have 20 per cent tax holiday for over 10 years. We will also arrange attractive venture capital funding," said Das, who holds a masters in electronics and telecom engineering.

Inspired by the rapid growth of the knowledge sector in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, the West Bengal government has decided to replicate the same in Kolkata, with similar facilities and resources in and around Salt Lake.

"Though we may take years to catch up with these southern cities in terms of growth and investments, we are creating an enabling environment to position Kolkata as an equally attractive destination for IT, BT (biotechnology) and nanotechnology industries in the east."

Apart from building massive infrastructure and connectivity, the state government is working with academia and industry to develop human resources for meeting the growing requirements of the knowledge sector.

"A high-level state committee is working with IIT-Kharagpur and Kolkata, Jadavpur and Durgapur universities and engineering colleges and technical institutes across the state to chalk out a five-year programme for churning out thousands of graduates and skilled manpower for software and hardware sectors of the new economy."

In addition to hundreds of training centres across the state, the state IT department is setting up finishing schools in secondary cities and major towns to impart soft skills, including fluency in English, clear communication and personality development for ready absorption by industry.

"We are encouraged by the overwhelming response of the IT industry to invest in Bengal and take advantage of the infrastructure facilities and talent pool available at competitive costs. On a comparative basis, we have a clear edge over other states in operation costs and employee retention."

Das was in India's Silicon hub with a 10-member delegation to hard-sell Kolkata at the third Vision Summit of the Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA) here to Indian and overseas delegates, including non-resident Indians (NRIs), ready to return as angel investors or smart entrepreneurs. The two-day event concluded Tuesday.

"Many overseas and Indian semiconductor firms and entrepreneurs have shown interest to look at Kolkata as an alternative destination for expanding their operations or floating start-ups. Videocon, IBM, TCS and Wipro have expressed willingness to set up manufacturing and product development centres in the proposed hardware park."

In a related development, a survey by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) said that West Bengal has the potential to emerge as one on of top five Indian states in IT and IT-enabled services.

"Bengal is poised to contribute about 15-20 per cent of the country's total IT revenue, including exports over the next five years. Between 2002-05, the state emerged as the fastest investment destination in the country for IT and IT-enabled services' firms," the survey said.Between 2002-05, the state emerged as the fastest investment destination in the country for IT and IT-enabled services' firms," the survey said.

Wow!!. looks too good. Rajarhat seems to be going thru a sea of change.

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http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8035/20022008368aa0.jpg

Sun...........great finds. whats up with the so many WHITE COLOR mid & highrises in calcutta. is it a cultural impact like symbol of purity or just no explaination for it.

Greenwood Park Extension

1
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2
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3
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Red tape may delay East-West Metro

The Statesman

The state government’s pet project, the East-West Metro might get delayed for another year if it fails to get clearance from the Centre before 10 March. The agreement with the Japan Bank of International Coope-ration (JBIC) for loan package for this financial year is scheduled to be signed on 10 March.

However, the project is yet to receive clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) which is mandatory for signing of the agreement with JBIC. In fact the proposal would be discussed in the Public Investment Board in New Delhi on 3 March. It is only after the approval of the PIB, the matter would be put up before the CCEA for its clearance which leaves only six days in hand for the state government for clearance.

The state government is making all efforts to get the JBIC loan sanctioned this year, itself. “The chief minister has taken it up on himself so that we get clearance from the Centre before 10 March. “We are trying to get it through,” said Mr Sumantra Choudhuri, additional chief secretary, transport department.

The transport department has also approached the Union urban development ministry to get the sanction through since “the project was not delayed by any fault of the state government”.
It has also cited the instance of the Bangalore Metro which needed CCEA approval as well.

Work for the East-West Metro project was set to begin from 2009. While JBIC would provide 50 per cent of the cost the rest would be shared by the Centre and state government.

The Centre would also be the guarantor of the loan. JBIC is offering the loan at only 3 per cent interest at a quarterly rate and the tenure of the loan is 30 years with ten years moratorium after construction.

The project which would be a crucial link between Howrah Station and Salt Lake Central park has already received environmental clearance.

Govt to buy land at Dankuni on PPP

The state government is set to purchase 4,840 acres of land, which it has identified at Dankuni for setting up of a township, on a public-private partnership.
Announcing this at his office at Writers’ Buildings, Minister for Urban Development Ashok Bhattacharya said that a procurement committee comprising people’s representatives and government officials has been formed for this purpose and consent letters have been distributed among the residents there.

“We are not going in for acquisition of land. We will buy the entire land. Already about 2,000 people have given their consent for selling their land. We hope we will be able to persuade the remaining to sell their land for the project which will change the social and economic demography of the area,” he said.

The minister, who is hopeful that he will not face any opposition, said that besides paying them the market price, the landowners would also be given an additional 30 per cent as compensation. The township will have a community centre and a 10-bed dispensary, among other things.

The plan also includes setting up of an industrial park on 700 acres of the land in which industries like light engineering, food processing, textiles and IT will be established.

“Recently, I held three meetings with the landowners there and found that there was a tremendous response for the project. A misinformation campaign, however, is going on and people are being told that the government will forcibly take their land, which is entirely wrong,” Bhattacharya said.

The government plans to give either two cottahs of land or a flat to the people living below the poverty line, who will be displaced by the project.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Govt-to-buy-land-at-Dankuni-on-PPP/275917/

Kolkata airport, deep-sea port get green signal from Planning Commission

Two crucial infrastructure projects lined up for West Bengal -- the proposed deep-sea port and the modernisation project for the NSC Bose airport at Dum Dum, received crucial clearance from the Union government.
Sabyasachi Sen, Principal Secretary of the state's Commerce and Industries Department, said today that the state's proposal to invite direct bids from the prospective developers for the deep-sea port, had been accepted by the Centre.

Sen was talking to reporters at the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation office.

Earlier, the Union ministry of shipping had invited bids from global consultants for the port project, but no bids were received as consultants demanded a change in terms of reference. The entire process led to a delay of two to three years.

"With the PMO's approval for the proposal, we are going to save at least two years, which would have been wasted in going through the same process again. We are now going to prepare the bid document and invite expressions of interest in a month's time," said Sen.

Several corporate houses like Videocon, the Jindals, and the New Kolkata International Development Pvt Ltd (NKID) promoted by Indonesia-based Salim Group, which has other business interests in the state, have evinced interest in developing the port.

The state government, however, has received no formal expressions of interest so far.

With respect to the Rs 5000-crore modernisation plans for the Kolkata airport, the proposal had been stuck with the Planning Commission, which had reserved its views.

But on Wednesday, the state administration was told that the Planning Commission had finally cleared the project.

It will now be sent to the Public Investment Board for clearance, following which it will be finally considered by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Kolkata-airport-deepsea-port-get-green-signal-from-Planning-Commission/275912/

Walkthrough video of DLF New Town Heights, Rajarhat-->
http://dlf.in/wps/portal/homes?jspName=new_town_homes/3D-Walkthrough.jsp


On second thought, the exterior design of the towers don't look as bad as I had previously perceived.

Convergys to have presence in the city
Source : TOI Epaper (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default)


Convergys mulls city presence
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: US-based Convergys, one of the world’s most admired IT firms, is examining the possibility of setting up a presence in the city.
“Kolkata is on the radar. We hope to be here by the end of the year,” Convergys India Services director (business development) Sanjit Bal said on the sidelines of an IT seminar in the city. The firm has started talks with the state government and a few private developers for land.
Currently, Convergys employs 14,000 employees in India and has a presence in most hotspots, including Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Convergys employs nearly 75,000 employees who serve clients in over 70 countries, speaking more than 35 languages, from 79 sites across the globe.
The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government has been trying to convince Convergys to set up a presence in the state for the past five years.

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/539/22022008379jv8.jpg

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Source:http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=1&subLeft=1&chklogin=N&autono=314796&tab=r

Far East Organization, one of the largest private property developers in Singapore, is planning to bring its luxury hotel chain namely, Fullerton Hotel, in India through its public-listed arm Sino Land.

The first 150-200 room Fullerton Hotel would come up in Kolkata, at a heritage building on the Ho Chi Min Sarani, as a joint venture with a Kolkata-based non residential Indian, said Chia Boon Kuah, executive director, Far East Organization, after a press conference in Kolkata on Saturday. The company was scouting heritage sites in Mumbai and Delhi also for similar projects, he said

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=1&subLeft=1&chklogin=N&autono=314796&tab=r

This is probably Lady Ranu Mukherjee's house.

Ideal Heights

Stratus
G+19

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9571/stratus1pe8ba1.jpg

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6463/stratusgg1.jpg

The extension of Kolkata Metro Rail will be completed by March 2009. Rolling out Indian Railways’ plans for suburban services, the railway minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, said metro works in Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai are being completed on priority. He said work on extension of Kolkata Metro Rail from Tollygunge to Garia will be completed in the coming financial year. Likewise, in the Chennai Metro Services the extension of Vellachari-Saint Thomas Mount section is expected to be completed by December 2010 at the cost of Rs 496 crore.
The minister said phase I of the Mumbai Urban Transport Services will be completed by 2009. Work on phase II will be started with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore and efforts will be made to complete it during the 11th plan. This apart, the railways also plans to conduct a pre-feasibility study for introduction of an elevated fully air-conditioned metro service between Mumbai Central and Virar stations on Western Railways. “After establishing the financial viability of the project, its implementation will be considered through various alternatives,” Mr Prasad said

RS Software
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/Paramount_plans_film_city_in_town/articleshow/2821066.cms

Paramount plans film city in town

KOLKATA: What happens when Brand Hollywood meets Brand Bengal, with Brand Buddha acting as catalyst? A film city in the City of Joy.

The big fat Hollywood project - as conceived by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee - is likely to roll out next week when a delegation from Paramount Licensing, which controls all the Paramount brands in Hollywood, arrives here with several other US business honchos between March 7 and 9. They will discuss - hold your breath - setting up the first-ever Hollywood-made film city in the country.

The hub will comprise film studios, theatres, resorts, production units with enriched media, state-of-the-art multimedia facilities, entertainment clusters and projections centres. Viewers will be spoilt for choice with all the Paramount flicks - Jaws , the Indiana Jones series, Ten Commandments et al.

The hub - essentially a remake of Hollywood's Universal Studios - will have a fair dose of Oriental and Indian flavours. It will also serve as a platform for screening and signing Bollywood projects.

The Chief Minister's carefully nurtured vision seems to be coming full circle. He had been snubbed by party hardliners in the late 1990s, when Karat & Co turned down a similar project by Warner Bros. FDI was a strict no-no in those days and Uncle Sam couldn't be touched with a barge pole.

But the project seems to have stayed on the CM's mind. The first thing he did when a US delegation met him here last September was to share this concept with them.

Jyoti Chatterjee, an NRI based in southern California and president, KPC Group, which is a part of a seven-company consortium with Paramount Licensing, said: "The delegation was from Los Angeles, which is near Hollywood, and the chief minister wasted no time sounding us out about the project."

But the CM and Industries Minister Nirupam Sen may not be in the city to meet them this time. "We are aware of this. But we'll get on with the preliminary talks with the industries department. The government has identified some land for the film city," Chatterjee said.

The US company is aware the CM is not just a film buff, but also Brand Bengal's CEO and is determined to fetch revenue. "Once the film hub comes alive, we can look forward to several joint ventures with Bollywood. The ventures will help both the state and the FDI partner," said an official.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/Paramount_plans_film_city_in_town/articleshow/2821066.cms
truly, great news !! something unique for kolkata

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/135/26022008387cz1.jpg

is it AA III ? then what are those buildings ? i guess it is AA II with Bengal Ambuja, Bengal Shrachi etc on the background

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080228/jsp/bengal/story_8959106.jsp

Deal with Changi on Durgapur airport

Calcutta, Feb. 27: Singapore’s Changi Airports International today signed an agreement with the developers of an airport in Andal near Durgapur.

Under the “technical services agreement”, Changi will play a key role in preparing the master plan for the airport and provide technical knowhow for its management and operations.

“The master plan is very important. We will also supervise airport capacity, land-use plan, passenger terminal layout and other infrastructure facilities,” Eugene Gan, the senior vice-president (worldwide operations) of the Singapore company, said after the pact was signed in the presence of civil aviation minister Praful Patel.

“Training will be imparted to the airport’s senior managers on terminal management,” Gan added.

Durgapur Aerotropolis (airport city), the first of its kind in India, will also have an industrial park and a township with all amenities like schools, colleges, shopping zones and healthcare facilities.

It will be spread over 2,300 acres, of which the airport will cover 650.

“The first phase will be built at a cost of Rs 150 crore. However, with Changi involved, the cost can be revised,” said Partha Ghosh, the director of Bengal Aerotropolis Projects, the developer.

Officials of the company hinted that Changi, which has been involved in developing over 40 airports, might formally enter into a joint venture for the project.

Patel said a draft had been finalised to make rules easier for private participation in airport projects.

A steering committee that includes Patel and the Planning Commission deputy chairman was formed recently to formulate the guidelines for private investors.

“We want agencies like the army and local governments on the committee. This will help private developers get a single-window clearance,” the minister explained.

He said airports run by the Airports Authority of India will not be handed over to private operators for development. However, there are over 40 non-operational airports under the authority. In Bengal, there are two of them — in Malda and Balurghat.

is it AA III ? then what are those buildings ? i guess it is AA II with Bengal Ambuja, Bengal Shrachi etc on the background

Oh...I thought the region near the haldiram junction was AAIII. Yes, AAII includes a lot of residential clusters and I believe City center 2 is coming along there as well.

Things seem to be moving ahead for the airport makeover

Source: TOI EPaper

Tenders soon for Rs 1500-crore airport makeover
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: The decks were cleared for the modernization of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on Tuesday, with civil aviation minister Praful Patel initiating the tender process for the Rs 1,500-crore project. The first phase of the makeover will begin in April this year.
It’s welcome news for the already delayed project. Work on the modernization was supposed to begin in January 2008 but approval from the Public Investment Board, which was expected to come through in the beginning of this year, was delayed. This slowed down the procedures to kickstart the project. Now, this hurdle has been cleared.
“I have already passed the necessary documents for the tender bidding process. In less than two months, the modernization project will take wing,” Patel told TOI on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the programme to finalize the MOU for the Duragpur Aerotropolis.
Soon the turnkey contractor will be selected by an international bidding. While Airports Authority of India will monitor the overall project, Airport de Paris, architects of the Charles de Gaulle Airport will design the new look of NSCBI Airport.
Although, the initial process of the project has been delayed for three months AAI is confident of meeting the earlier deadline of the project. “We will work hard to compensate for the delay and will hope to finish the first phase of the project by the expected deadline — end-2008-09,” said SPS Bakshi, in charge of the mega makeover.
Phase 1 will add a 21,193-sq m departure terminal, which will cost Rs 225 cr and will be completed in 3 years.
With this ‘world-class’ infrastructure the new airport will meet the needs of 20 million passengers a year from its present capacity of 6 million. It is enough to meet the airport’s needs for the next 25 years.
But dreams of a third runway at Kolkata airport — which would have boosted flight capacity by 60% — are unlikely to be realized. When Patel was asked about the status of the extra runway, he said for the moment he wanted to concentrate on extending the secondary runway. “We are facing severe problems in getting the land for a third runway,” he said.
In October 2007, the secondary runway length was increased from 2,400 metres to 2,840 metres. Airports Authority of India had proposed a further extension of 400 metres to bring it on a par with the primary runway. Airports Authority of India is still waiting for the state government’s consent to shift Kaikhali Road that encroaches on airport land, but could take some time coming.
“Another problem with the secondary runway is that it lacks the instrumental landing system (ILS) that helps in flight operations even in very low visibility. We plan to install ILS so that secondary runway is ready for all kinds of situations,” a senior AAI official said.
Presently there are 82 airports in operation across the nation. The Civil Aviation Department has identified more 40-45 non-operational air strips all over the country and is keen on to make them operational through joint ventures. “The growing trend in aviation industry suggests that we need more airports in the future. Apart from greenfield projects its quite important to make these airstrips operative,” Patel said.

This is probably Lady Ranu Mukherjee's house.

Yup. This piece published a few months ago mentions Lady Ranu mukherjee's residence
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/07/09/stories/2007070951151500.htm

is it AA III ? then what are those buildings ? i guess it is AA II with Bengal Ambuja, Bengal Shrachi etc on the background

Yes, that is AA II.

Found this from Kolkatamusings which is based on an ABP news.

Quite an interesting proposal.

Sorry it's in Bangla.

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/4520/howrahlocaltrainsabpqw0.gif

English version from http://www.kolkatamusing.com/

For the first time in living memory there will be sincere attempts to correct the schedules of local trains from Howrah. According to the plan, instead of 13 destinations in the Howrah division, the trains will ply on 6 of them only. They are Howrah to Bandel, Howrah to Bardhaman (Chord), Bandel to Bardhaman, Bandel to Katwa, Bandel to Naihati, and Sheoraphuli to Tarakeswar.

This means Bandel will become a hub and all other destinations will rather be spokes. This plan will simplify the entire running schedule as can be seen in the graphics.

For example, Howrah to Bandel locals will run every 6 minutes, totaling 144 pairs every day instead of 107 pairs now. Similarly, average frequency of trains from Howrah to Bardhaman Chord will reduce to 30 minutes from the present 69, while the numbers of trains will more than double from 21 to 48.

When the plan comes into effect, Howrah will operate trains to only 2 destinations – Bandel and Bardhaman Chord. This means less need for platforms – 3 in place of 7 now.

There are plans to make these platforms double-discharging at Howrah, meaning passengers can get in and out from both sides. This is what you get to see at Central Railway’s CST, Mumbai, and also at 1, 4, and 4A at Sealdah Main.

Grand 'plans'

S 24-Parganas to be all dolled up by 2010

Statesman News Service

The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will set up the infrastructure for the proposed headquarters of South 24-Parganas district at Baruipur at an estimated cost of Rs 120 crore. The chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will lay the foundation stone of the proposed headquarters on 5 March. If things go according to the plan, the proposed headquarters will be ready by 2010.

A senior KMDA official said construction and widening of roads, laying of new sewage line, construction of administrative building and district magistrate’s office and staff quarters will begin shortly. Extension of the Metro railway to Garia will help commuters to reach Baruipur comfortably. The road between Sonarpur and Baruipur will be widened and made into a four-lane thoroughfare. The land required for the project has already been acquired.

He said since South 24-Parganas is the gateway to the city, the 17.5 kilometre-long Eastern Metropolitan bypass will be made into an eight-lane thoroughfare. Stretches of the EM bypass from Ultadanga and Parama Island will be an eight-lane road while the existing four-lane road from Parama Island to Ballygunge connector will become a six-lane one. From Ballygunge connector to Garia, the existing three-lane road will be made into a four-lane one. Later, the entire stretch will be made into an eight-lane road. This will hasten vehicular movement. Two flyovers will come up on EM bypass. One between Dattabad and Ultadanga and the other one off Parama Island to Park Circus. Both these constructions will be made from the funds available under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) . He said illegal encroachments between Ballygunge Connector and Parama Island have been pulled down and work to widen the road is in full swing.

He said since South 24-Parganas is the gateway to the city, the 17.5 kilometre-long Eastern Metropolitan bypass will be made into an eight-lane thoroughfare. Stretches of the EM bypass from Ultadanga and Parama Island will be an eight-lane road while the existing four-lane road from Parama Island to Ballygunge connector will become a six-lane one. From Ballygunge connector to Garia, the existing three-lane road will be made into a four-lane one. Later, the entire stretch will be made into an eight-lane road. This will hasten vehicular movement. Two flyovers will come up on EM bypass. One between Dattabad and Ultadanga and the other one off Parama Island to Park Circus. Both these constructions will be made from the funds available under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) . He said illegal encroachments between Ballygunge Connector and Parama Island have been pulled down and work to widen the road is in full swing.

This piece should have mentioned something about the bypass extn to Baruipur and no harp about the existing EM bypass. Does not make much difference by changing 6 to 8 lane if they cannot provide connectivity till baruipur.
Also no sign of the two planned flyovers on Ultadanga& Parama island crossings yet.

Tantia constructions today deployed men and materials to start the construction of the flyover at the wipro intersection. No alignment details or deadline was mentioned. This should be a relief for the commute to sector V & Rajarhat/airport.

Tantia constructions today deployed men and materials to start the construction of the flyover at the wipro intersection. No alignment details or deadline was mentioned. This should be a relief for the commute to sector V & Rajarhat/airport.

At least they started the work. Tantia is a good company as I know. Didn't they concretize the tram tracks?

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/State_solves_Infy_land_puzzle/articleshow/2838298.cms)

State solves Infy land puzzle

KOLKATA: After farmers, the state government is all set to “acquire” land from a private developer for industry. However, unlike the farmers, the private developer is giving up the land for free.

Vedic Village will return 600 acres of its 1,200-acre township in Rajarhat, which the government will then hand over to Infosys and other IT companies.

On February 28, the state Cabinet Committee on Industrial Affairs approved the IT department’s proposal to “acquire” 600 acres from Vedic Village. Those present at the meeting - including chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, industries minister Nirupam Sen, finance minister Asim Dasgupta and IT minister Debesh Das - felt this was the only way Infosys could be given land near Kolkata at a reasonable rate.

The land will be at Webel’s disposal and 100 acres will go to Infosys. Wipro, too, may benefit. Infosys will have to pay far less than the Rs 2.16 crore per acre Hidco at first quoted or the revised rate of Rs 1.5 crore it is still seeking. The IT major had found the Hidco cost prohibitive and sought a price of Rs 60-65 lakh per acre.

The CM had been desperately looking for land for Infosys ever since the software major said last November that high land price was the major roadblock to investment. Rajarhat was fast running out of land and Infosys wasn’t interested in setting up base in Kalyani. Vedic Village’s gesture, in such a scenario, is a windfall.

In return for giving up land, Vedic Village will get infrastructure like roads, sewerage and water connection in its green township. “We are getting the government to create sewerage, water connections, roads, etc for the remaining 600 acres in our possession. With the infrastructure in place, we can implement our extension project on this land,” Vedic Village MD Raj Modi told TOI.

^^
Definitely very good news --
1) Big IT companies will get land
2) Rajarhat will have another 1200 acres of well connected, developed area added to it

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/State_solves_Infy_land_puzzle/articleshow/2838298.cms)

So Vedic Village had 1200 acres in possession? Interesting.

So Vedic Village had 1200 acres in possession? Interesting.

^^ Ya.. How they managed to get such a big chunk? Or 1200 is a wrong info?

Another foundation stone laid by Buddha. God knows how long it will take for the never on time CMDA and other agencies to deliver. The Babus must be already writing the book of excuses right now.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/4391/baruipurji0.jpg

^^ That’s a "foundation joke". I think that can never be constructed in such a fertile zone. Lets see and hope for the best..

At least they started the work. Tantia is a good company as I know. Didn't they concretize the tram tracks?

Not sure about that. Their website however does not give much indication on their past projects. I believe they are also constructing the flyover interchange on Park circus 5 point crossing as per a sign board.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Rail-Board-plans-to-bring-ER--SER---Metro-under-one-umbrella/280939/


Rail Board plans to bring ER, SER & Metro under one umbrella

Kolkata, Mar 5 The Railway Board has decided to draft a master plan for Kolkata to augment its freight and passenger operations in the run up to the dedicated Freight Corridor project, scheduled to begin from November this year.

Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has tried to weave a road map for the growth in freight by 60 million tonne this year with an aim to achieve the target of 1,100 million tonne by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan. The eastern corridor with a projected rate of 15% return will be geared up to meet the enhanced loading.

The Railway Board has planned to bring the Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway and Metro Rail under a single umbrella to bolster the growth in freight and passenger revenue.

KC Jena, chairman of the Railway Board, said: "The time has come for them to sit together. The three railway divisions plan things for themselves. It has to be coordinated now as benefits are not reaching to the people at large."

The Railway Board will appoint a consultant to study different terminals in and around the city. "It will study all the terminals of Kolkata along with both freight and passenger facilities there," Jena said.

The Cabinet has given its approval to enhance the capacity of the Dankuni terminal. "We want new terminals to come up at the periphery of the city," he said.

The Rail Bhavan has also approved the extension of the eastern corridor to Dankuni, leading to the need to set up a logistics park there. "The consultant will also look at the possibility of developing the park near Dankuni," he said. According to him, the railways would look at the public-private-partnership model to finance the project.

http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/newsPopup.php?fileR=20080305161724121&dir=2008/03/05&secID=livenews

Simplex Projects bags two contracts

Simplex Projects, an infrastructure company, secured a contract for development and management of multi-level car parking project at Salt Lake, Kolkata under built operate and transfer (BOT) basis under joint venture with Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.

The project consists of multi-level car parking for about 600 cars and a commercial complex and is to be completed within a time span of 18 months. The company is signing the concession agreement on Mar. 6, 2008 in respect of the above project with the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority.

The company is also entering into a memorandum of understanding with the Future Group in respect of the leasing of the commercial complex.

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.05, or 0.01%, to settle at Rs 350. The total volume of shares traded was 314 at the BSE.(Wednesday)

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Prime_Salt_Lake_property_sold_for_record_Rs_143_cr/articleshow/2841196.cms
KOLKATA: Land rates for big-ticket IT ventures have just scaled a new peak in Kolkata’s bustling tech town in Salt Lake. In one of the biggest recent city property deals, a consortium of South City Projects and Merlin group has shelled out a whopping Rs 143 crore to KMDA to acquire a prized 4.3-acre plot in the Salt Lake Electronic Complex (Saltlec) to develop an IT logistics centre. This pegs the deal size at an unprecedented Rs 33.33 crore per acre for a local IT venture.

Sources in the state government confirmed this is the highest payout for project land in the North 24 Parganas, which is a reflection of booming realty prices for IT projects in West Bengal.

For property buffs closely tracking Kolkata’s realty turf, here’s that exciting nugget of info. The South City-Merlin deal actually supersedes the Rs 27 crore per acre shelled out by DLF Hilton for its city hotels venture. And it is merely a shade below the Rs 33.81 crore per acre that Dubai-based Emaar MGF forked out for a 6.24-acre plot on the EM Bypass to also set up a premium hotels venture.

Significantly, the South City-Merlin Group duo came up trumps after bids were invited by KMDA for development of an IT logistics centre at Saltlec, a first of its kind project in the state. An MoU will be signed between the South City Projects-Merlin Group combine and KMDA on Thursday for development of the project.

South City Projects director Pradeep Sureka confirmed that the South City-Merlin Group combine won the technical bid to develop the project. “As part of the bid agreement, a 50:50 JV would be floated between the South City Projects-Merlin Group combine and KMDA for implementation of the project. It will be developed at an outlay of Rs 250-300 crore and will ready by 2010,” Mr Sureka said.

Incidentally, KMDA officials indicated they had received bids from six leading real estate developers including the likes of DLF. Interestingly, the entire bidding process was monitored by the chief minister’s office.

A senior state IT department official said the deal size highlights the huge interest for land in the city’s IT hub. “Saltlec is almost completely occupied. No doubt, land prices will rise substantially due to the supply shortage,” he said.

The proposed IT logistics centre will provide plug-and-play secretarial service for IT/ITeS professionals and other logistics support for their business needs. This includes hotel, food courts, retail outlets, recreation plazas and banquet facilities for conference, workshop, convention & business meet. The facility will be built in the lines of Delhi’s IHC.

“KMDA has tied up with the South City-Merlin Group combine as they have the capability to develop infrastructure for such a project. They were selected through a transparent bidding process. Once the JV is formed, a board will be formed with equal representation from KMDA and the private developer,” a senior KMDA official said.

The state government feels development of such IT logistic centres will lend impetus to the state IT sector. It has set a target to increase IT/ITeS exports upwards of 100% from the state for the next three years to corner. Incidentally, exports from Kolkata’s software technology park have surged 46% to Rs 3,162 crore in 2006-07.

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/State_mulls_bigger_BRT_network/articleshow/2841479.cms)


State mulls bigger BRT network

KOLKATA: The government plans to extend the proposed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) network beyond the original 47-km alignment from Barasat to Baruipur to include Satragachhi in Howrah.

The state has asked Canadian firm McCormick Rankin International (MRI) to include an alignment till Satragachhi in the feasibility study it is conducting for BRTS that would operate on the Barasat-Baruipur route. The firm had made a presentation before transport minister Subhas Chakraborty in November 2006 and had proposed to conduct the feasibility study.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is keen on funding the Rs 4-crore study. “The state had written to CIDA to conduct a feasibility study at its own cost. Now, a letter seeking full support to conduct the study will be sent to the government,” said an MRI official. A CIDA team is slated to visit the city soon for the study.

“The alignment would benefit more people if it could be connected with Satragachhi, Howrah, across the Second Vivekananda Bridge,” said an official. Once the study is complete, the state would prepare a detailed project report to include it under National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM) scheme.

Under the new proposal, a dedicated corridor would come up at the Barasat-end that would stretch along NH-34, Jessore Road, Belghoria Expressway, BT Road and then cross the Second Vivekananda Bridge and reach Howrah. It would then stretch to the south-east - running almost parallel to NH-2 - to terminate at Satragachhi.

BRTS is a very popular mode of public transport in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It only requires a dedicated bus corridor to operate. Officials say BRTS would be cost-effective because it would use the existing road infrastructure with some modifications and would not involve any land acquisition.

Earlier, IIT-Delhi had made a presentation on BRTS before chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Cities like Pune and Bhopal are also contemplating introducing the system under the NURM scheme.

Source:http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Birla--s-More-enters-Bengal-with-9-stores/280535/

Kolkata, Mar 4 More, the retail venture of the AV Birla group, has made a quiet entry into West Bengal without any of the buzz associated with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail, which had to retreat in the face of political protests.

Aditya Birla Retail Ltd, the company behind the More brand, has just put up a few small banners, avoiding hoardings and advertising campaigns or even any media presence.

At least nine More outlets are already doing business in West Bengal, with five in Kolkata, all opened over the past fortnight. By March end, More will have 30 stores, each of around 2000-2500sq ft, across the state.

These will be at the lower end of the More format, but selling everything from groceries and fresh farm produce to branded apparel. However, More will not retail non-vegetarian items.

Reliance Retail had planned to set up at least 20 outlets of various formats starting from 2000sqft in Kolkata and adjoining areas in the first phase, before virulent opposition from some Left Front partners and the Trinamool Congress forced it to put the launches on hold.

Birla's More plans to have 30 stores by March this year, at least 10 outlets more than RPG group's retail venture Spencer's, in Kolkata and adjacent areas. It has also set up a district centre at Barasat in North 24 Parganas.

The AV Birla group's spokesperson declined to comment for this report.

While Spencer's opened its first Daily store in Kolkata almost a year back, it has already set up 20 stores including a 72,000sqft hypermart. According to Spencer's, 10% of its turnover is contributed by West Bengal.

More has set up five stores in Kolkata ---at Kankurgachi, Elliot Road, Rajarhat, Hatiara and Dum Dum. Five have been set up in Kalyani, Sodepur, Uttarpara and Barasat, in the districts. One more outlet at Dumdum will open this month

3 new projects by CMDA
Source: TOI Epaper

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/3315/getimagehdllcv4.png

Source: TOI EPaper


City semiconductor unit gains pace
Sumali Moitra | TNN

Kolkata: The proposed ‘India Design Centre’ at Sector V, which will serve as a dedicated hub for semiconductor firms, is gathering pace.
“The foundation stone laying ceremony of the centre will be performed on March 18,” state IT minister Debesh Das told TOI on Wednesday. “We have already started marketing the facility to leading semiconductor companies and have elicited a good response.”
The Rs 70-crore design centre — which is being set up on a one-acre plot belonging to Webel — will be developed by Infinity Infotech Parks in partnership with Webel. “The 250,000-sq-ft facility should be operational by 2010, with Webel being allotted a certain proportion of the built-up space in lieu of its contribution in the form of land,” sources said.
Das — who first broached the concept of a design centre in February 2007 — said the state is maintaining constant touch with the India Semiconductor Association (ISA) to ensure that the facility attracts the best of breed. ISA is the premier national forum for semiconductor firms, with over 100 members. Incidentally, ISA had worked closely with the Centre on the framing of the semiconductor policy.
“We have discussed the implications of the discontinuance of the STPI scheme on small IT firms with Nasscom president Som Mittal. We are trying to build a strong case on this,” Das said.

20 Malls along NH34

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com//Cities/Kolkata/Mall_and_plex_mania_hits_the_high_road/articleshow/2841475.cms

KOLKATA: The landscape along National Highway 34 is about to change. For ever. Over the next 18 months, the stretch between Jessore Road intersection to Siliguri will have twice as many malls as Kolkata has now.

At least 20 mall-cum-multiplexes have been planned along this length of the high frequency highway. Construction has already started on 10 of them. By 2010, they promise to change the face of shopping and entertainment in districts the highway runs along.
Ten of the malls will be built by Bengal Shelter Housing Development Limited, a real estate developer. To let people know that a whole new mall district is coming up on NH-34, Singhadwar (lion’s gate) is being built at the VIP Road-Jessore Road intersection, the architecture a replica of the gates of Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

There would be no compromise on space or the kind of merchandise that will be available at these malls in spite of the fact that they are located away from Kolkata.

In fact, many of these shopping centres are being planned on a much grander scale than what we are used to in the city. The smallest of these would have a covered space of 400,000 sq ft.

Besides being a single-point shopping stopover for residents and those on the highway, the centre of attraction in each of these malls would certainly be the multiplexes that have been planned as an intrinsic part of them. Some leading names in fast food chains will also be expected to be present in the food courts of these malls.

Take the case of Gouri Kunja, the first mall on the stretch. It is planned to have an area of 600,000 sq ft and is being described as a lifestyle store for the upwardly mobile. Two names that would be big crowd pullers here are, Big Bazaar and Adlabs multiplex.

At Panthopadap, another mall covering 550000 sq ft near Barasat, Pantaloons alone has taken 2.80 lakh sq ft space and will set up its "Destination Mall". Asked why the popular brand chose to set up its biggest and best stocked store in North 24-Parganas, Manish Agarwal of Pioneer that acts as the marketing consultant for Pantaloons said, "A lion’s share of the footfall in the city’s malls comes from neighbouring districts. Hence, if we take the store to them it will certainly boost sales!" In this mall the multiplex will be set up by Inox.

Further up, at Nilganj near Kalyani, the mall will cover a space of 400,000 sq ft. While both Pantaloons and Big Bazaar are expected to be present here, Adlabs is setting up the multiplex.

Malls in places like Amdanga, North 24-Parganas, and Krishnagar, Nadia, have been planned as part of housing complexes and would cover 500,000 sq ft each. Krishnakali, the mall in Krishnagar, has been designed in such a way that the turrets remind one of the Krishnagar palace.

In fact, in all the 10 malls, the basic design would remain the same with the domes and turrets changing according to local architecture. So, one look at Mirmadan in Behrampore, Murshidabad, would remind you of the Nawabi architecture that is a hallmark of the area.

The 500,000 sq ft mall being built on a 150-bigha plot would be at the centre of an urban neighbourhood in the town. The mall in Malda is coming up near Rabindra Bhavan and the one in Siliguri, christened Himjhuri, is being built on an eight-acre plot near Teenbatti intersection which will be developed as a commercial hub.

Samar Nag, the chief of Bengal Shelter said, "The idea is not to overshadow the local flavour of the place with a swanky mall. In each of these malls, we will ensure that local art, culture and food is represented." The deal with Adlabs about the latter’s presence in these malls is about to be finalized by the end of the month, said P P Tewari of Remac that has been acting as the marketing consultant for Adlabs.

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Left-red-carpet-in-Kolkata-for-California-trade-team/281858/

Once again, America and the nuclear deal may be pushing both the Left and the UPA to the brink in New Delhi but in Kolkata, comrades need to “modernise” and “upgrade.” So while red flags go up in the capital, it was the red carpet here today for a US trade mission from southern California that arrived to “explore” investment opportunities.
The team held a round of “matchmaking business sessions,” as president of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry S. Radhakrishnan put it.

Its members also met senior government officers to identify areas for partnering in various sectors including infrastructure development, Kolkata airport modernisation — a raw nerve for the Marxists — setting up of a deep sea port, a film city and other “business interests.” About eight West Bengal-based companies participated in talks in other areas like clean energy. The sessions will continue for the next couple of days.

This initiative once again had the stamp of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, West Bengal Chief Minister. The CM had sent the city’s Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya as an emissary to Long Beach, California, last year. On behalf of the CM, Bhattacharya, who belongs to the CPM, extended an invitation to his US hosts.

They responded, visiting Kolkata first in September 2007. They met the Chief Minister in September where he told them about his plans to have the Americans partner in the deep-sea port project, airport modernization — and his “dream” to have a Hollywood-style studio in Kolkata.

This time, the delegation returned with a larger team of 25 members and met officials of the state Commerce and Industries department.

It includes representatives of the World Trade Center Association (WTCA), Los Angeles-Long Beach; the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and bureaucrats from the city of Long Beach.

“They want to check out investment possibilities in the state. They have diverse business interests,” said managing director of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation M V Rao.

“We met Port authorities here and the meeting was very encouraging. We have with us the chairman of the Long Beach Port and would like to share our green port standards and our technical expertise,” said Suja Lowenthal, a council member of the city of Long Beach. The team, which also has members of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, met officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in Kolkata.

“Ten US delegates met us today and expressed interest in investing in the development of infrastructure, which is part of the modernization plans of the Kolkata airport. The modalities are yet to be worked out but we told them about our needs,” said AAI regional executive director P K Singhal.

Even the Airports Authority of India Employees’ Union (AAEU), which had been protesting the modernization of airports across the country by private players, said that it had “no reservations” against the “use of American companies or technology” for the modernization of Dum Dum airport.

“We do not have any problems if the design for the new buildings come from American companies, as long as the modernization process remains in the domain of AAI,” said M K Ghoshal, AAEU general secretary, instrumental in the strikes at the airport over the issue of modernization.

So isn’t there a dichotomy between this and the stand on the nuclear deal with the US? “So many high-ranking American visitors have been in West Bengal over the last few months and this has nothing to do with the nuclear deal,” says veteran CPM MP Basudeb Acharya. “Our policies are very clear. If the investment generates new employment and brings in better technology to the country that is not available at present, then it’s welcome

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Left-red-carpet-in-Kolkata-for-California-trade-team/281858/

stupid leftist red mouthed hypocrites

^^

India's main stream left parties are not the only political hypocrites in India. Political hypocrisy cuts across party lines and it is great to see how each party gets exposed.

That said, India's main stream left parties need to get down a bit from their preachy politburo pedestals. They should shut their big mouths on foreign policy and tone down their rhetoric against certain countries. Anyone with a little common sense will know the real reason for their rhetoric against those countries (Hint: vote bank politics). It really looks silly when they organize seminars condemning human rights violations in other countries or states and remain silent on human rights violations in their own backyard or their brotherly backyards. It's like the pot calling the kettle black.

The Left Front should concentrate on improving things under their control like the healthcare system in West Bengal. Sometimes they forget that they were given a mandate to govern West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala and not a mandate to govern India.

i think the left sees it as a mandate to Rule (not govern)

Source: TOI Epaper


Coral Soff’wares seeks land in city
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: City-based Coral Soff’wares has sought a 5-acre plot from the state to set up a software development unit and aims to raise headcount to over 600 by 2009-10 from 75 currently.
The company, which offers ERP solutions to small and medium enterprises, also intends to start “domestic outsourcing” for which it will partner individual software developers on a freelance basis. “We approached the state IT department for land in January. We plan to develop the plot as per our requirement and don’t want to just shift to a plugand-play facility. We are awaiting a feedback from the authorities,” Coral MD Prem Chand Kankaria told TOI.
When contacted, an IT department source said: “The proposal has been received and the department is evaluating it.” However, it is learned that Coral is likely to get a plot at Jagdishpur. Kankaria added the idea of domestic outsourcing is to offer good career opportunities to individuals who are unable to devote time at a stretch like new or expecting mothers, and also professionals from other trades who have keen interest and good skills in software development.

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/1263/08032008413tr3.jpg

Signs of Restoration work in progress...
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9759/pict2181hl7.jpg

leftist aren't stupid, neither are they hypocrites.

Didn't you read the statement made by veteran CPM MP Basudeb Acharya.

“Our policies are very clear. If the investment generates new employment and brings in better technology to the country that is not available at present, then it’s welcome."
Besides the nuclear deal is a sham...and could jeopardize India's nuclear arsenal.

Dude, you know little about the nuclear deal! This is the best way for India to come out of the nuclear darkness. The only thing that worries me about nuclear energy is the dependence on uranium imports. However, that is good because then our source of energy is diversified - oil from middle east, gas from central asia, and uranium from Australia, Canada, USA - this way we are not dependent on any one country.

Further, a huge nuclear industry WILL GENERATE EMPLOYMENT AND PROGRESS! So, that red asshole is a hypocritic idiot.

Also, nuclear deal does not talk about india's nuclear arsenal. In fact India can maintain a few defence nuclear reactors out of reach of IAEA.

Regarding US' motives - rise of India's nuclear industry is good for its uranium producers, reactor manufacturers, etc. Also, it reduces demand on oil from a potentially guzzling and growing country, thus keeping the wealth of the middle east in check.

This deal is the best India can get and it should take it.

^^

India's main stream left parties are not the only political hypocrites in India. Political hypocrisy cuts across party lines and it is great to see how each party gets exposed.

That said, India's main stream left parties need to get down a bit from their preachy politburo pedestals. They should shut their big mouths on foreign policy and tone down their rhetoric against certain countries. Anyone with a little common sense will know the real reason for their rhetoric against those countries (Hint: vote bank politics). It really looks silly when they organize seminars condemning human rights violations in other countries or states and remain silent on human rights violations in their own backyard or their brotherly backyards. It's like the pot calling the kettle black.

The Left Front should concentrate on improving things under their control like the healthcare system in West Bengal. Sometimes they forget that they were given a mandate to govern West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala and not a mandate to govern India.

The opinion of the Left Front is only important because of the coalition government at the centre. The left always has felt unrealistically self-important and can bite the dust soon after any general election. If you look at the popular support for Left parties in India, leaving aside red bastions of WB, Tripura, and Kerala, it is next to insignificant.

Instead of fully utilizing their newfound leverage, they are hell-bent on ruining the aspirations of West Bengal and Kolkata, which are again getting positioned to be pushed into oblivion for the next umpteen years following the next round of general elections. The perpetual whining and centre bashing that will surely follow might then win the left a few more regional votes - but will surely evaporate funding for the dreamt up development projects for Kolkata down the road.

It is about time that the left's bluff is called if they continue to hold India's economic progress hostage.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Spinach-retail-stores-in-Bengal-by-April/282886/

Spinach retail stores in Bengal by April

Kolkata, Mar 10 Spinach, the brand for the retail venture of the Delhi- based Wadhawan Group, is likely to make a foray in West Bengal soon as it sets April deadline for its employees.

Delhi- based Wadhawan Group, mainly into real estate, has already opened stores in Mumbai and Pune and promoted those as the neighbourhood grocery stores. The group's retail venture in Kolkata comes on the heels of Kumar Mangalam Birla's retail initiative, More's launch in West Bengal.

According to sources in the industry, Spinach will open five stores in Kolkata. While it is looking at locations like Laketown, Chingrihata and Sinthir More as probable location for outlets in North Kolkata, Naktala and Behala have appeared on Spinach's South Kolkata map.

The group has also started working on the 18,000 sq ft warehouse in Batanagar.

Wadhawan Food Retail Pvt Ltd, promoter of the Spinach brand, has already put a 30-employee team in Kolkata to gear up the process and launch the first store sometime near 'poila boisakh', the Bengali New Year.

Spinach has three formats at present– Spinach Local (2,500 sq ft), Spinach Super (5,000-7,000 sq ft) and Spinach Express, which will be large format stores.

Sources close to the development in West Bengal said, each Spinach store will cover an area of 1,500-2,000 sq ft. Of the total 4,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) to be stored in an outlet, a large portion will be in the ready-to-cook (RTC) and ready-to-process (RTP) category.

http://img392.imageshack.us/img392/6738/11032008433wl2.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/indrajal/Construction/r1177810064jpgx400y160sigH5eMqKoycK.jpg

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa176/indrajal/Construction/r910693080.jpg

The Swabhumi Hotel complex in Kolkata, India, is seen in this undated artists impression by architectural firm Morphogenesis released on March 11, 2008. A breeze flows below the building because of a design inspired by the way trees trap winds. REUTERS/Morphogenesis/Handout (INDIA).

^^ Didn't understand what is bad there? :?

Are you referring to the comment I made about the Hotel or the retail venture?

for the retail venture: i just don't think its fancy enough. It looks like a storage space.

And why do you want a "fancy" wholesale market? People don't go to such stores to spend quality time. As long as the such stores are clean, well stocked, fair priced and organized, it is fine.

Thats exactly my point. Kolkata already has several open-air market for such products. The idea of going into a storage box to shop for such thing takes out the fun and aura that comes with bargaining : ), and feeling the breeze run through your hair.

I like the both. :) I don't want to reject one for another.

Btw, the metro cash & carry is under construction. How will it be looking fancy?

http://www.deepikaglobal.com/ENG5_sub.asp?newscode=16027&catcode=ENG5&subcatcode=

Convergence Centre for IT conference in Salt Lake

Kolkata, Mar 12 (UNI) A state-of-the-art Convergence Centre with clear vision line design and equipped with most modern amenities was inaugurated today at the IT hub in Salt Lake.

West Bengal IT Minister Dr Debesh Das, who inaugurated the 150 seater Centre, said the facility would be available on hire basis to all IT companies for conducting their conferences.

'' The facility will be available to all IT companies, and, in particular the organisations in Sector-V for conducting their seminars, video shows and presentations, '' the IT Minister observed.

Dr Das said the Convergence Centre with latest acoustic facilities had been constructed by DPSC Limited, a private sector utility engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the Asansol-Ranigunj belt.

On the occasion, an agreement for purchase of solar power was signed between DPSC Limited and West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation Limited.

Dr Das also informed that a grid connected solar PV power plant, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, would be set up at Shibpur in Asansol.:nuts:

More aaram for our great netas

Source: TOI EPaper


Circuit house for city in 18 months
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: Kolkata will finally get its own circuit house. State land and land reforms minister Abdur Rezzaq Mollah laid the foundation stone on Wednesday.
The circuit house will come up on 13 cottah of the 48-cottah plot of Bedi Bhavan on Southern Avenue beside Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. The remaining land will be utilised for a 19-storey residential complex.
The circuit house, covering a carpet area of 11,753 square feet, will have all three-star hotel facilities. The five-storey building will have four VIP suites, 18 double-bed rooms and a parking lot for 20 cars. “The project will cut down on the state government’s hotel expenses,” said Mollah. The Fort Group will construct the circuit house within the next 18 months. It has bought the entire plot of land on lease, paying Rs 18 crore.
“We will pay more around Rs 9 to 10 crore to build the circuit house. The price for the residential complex is yet to be evaluated,” said Varun Kathoria of the Fort Group.
The project was slated to be executed in the late ’90s. But Opposition leader Mamata Banerjee raised questions over the transparency of the procedures followed to acquire the land. She staged a dharna and called for an all-Bengal strike on this issue on October 28, 1998.
Mayor Bikash Bhattacharya, who graced the occasion, said: “Without looking back to the past, we should concentrate on the future. This is a good project and I will request the concerned authority to maintain it properly.”

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Rajarhat-to-be-a-wireless-hub/284291/

Rajarhat to be a wireless hub

Kolkata, March 13 The state government is planning to set up a wireless hub at Rajarhat or in its vicinity to bring all the companies dealing in wireless technology under one roof.
Answering to questions in the Assembly, state minister for information technology (IT) Debesh Das on Thursday said that the move would help in the development of the segment.

While Rajarhat is the first choice, the hub's location has still not been finalised, he added.

On March 19, a meeting of the upcoming wireless technology research centre will be held at the Calcutta University, in coordination with the Centre for TeleInFrastruktur (CTIF), Aalborg University, Denmark, for discussing new initiatives on international projects.

Das said that the upcoming India Design Centre at Sector-V is the first step towards developing the wireless segment in the state. The hub will house companies that develop high-end software for computer chips.

The minister said that beside Kolkata, the government is keen to develop other towns like Haldia, Kharagpur, Siliguri, Durgapur and Kalyani as IT hubs.

"The IT industry in the state grew at 31 per cent in 2005-06. In 2006-07 the rate of growth went up to 46 per cent. Despite a growth in volume (of units), our growth rate also increased. This indicates that we are growing fast," Das said, adding that the national average growth rate during 2006-07 was 32 per cent.

As per official figures, the state ranks eighth in the country in terms of employment and investments. Around 60,000 persons are employed in the sector at present.

The investment in the state in the sector is around Rs 5,000 crore.

Hey Saraf. Whats a circuit house?

I think its kind of free accommodation to the VIPs..

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/DQE-to-set-up-shop-in-Kolkata/284741/

The London AIM-listed, Hyderabad-based animation major DQ Entertainment is setting up a two-shift, 160-seater production facility here by April to create content for films, TV, video and mobile games.

"We have joined hands with the IT department of West Bengal through Webel and have taken up large premises at STPI to start high-end animation and gaming productions," said Tapaas Chakravarti, chairman and CEO, DQE.

At a joint press conference here on Friday, Chakravarti said the company wants to set up an animation SEZ in Kolkata in three years to do highend feature quality, 3D and animation productions.

"We want to grow to about a 1,000 people in two years and Kolkata is going to be the second largest hub of DQE outside Hyderabad ," he added. The company is already looking for large properties in New Town. "We knew all along that we would get quality talent in the eastern region which can be honed into a world quality workforce."

To that end, DQE is also going to run Webel's Animation Academy together with the electronics industry development corporation. The academy has 305 students and many from the earlier batches have been recruited by DQE, whose clients range from Disney, BBC, Nickelodeon, Discovery Kids to Mattel Toys, Electronic Arts and Method Films.

State IT minister Debesh Das said the entry of DQE "will open a new chapter and help to create a state-of-the-art Animation Park in the city very soon."

I think its kind of free accommodation to the VIPs..

Don't think. It is.

Why would they need to build a special accommodation for them? Wouldn't it much cheaper and easier to just put them up in some fancy hotel.

I hate it when they go above and beyond to create unnecessary stuff, when the more important ones are neglected.

dude netas holiday a lot..
it wud be expensive affair to put them up in a fancy hotel..
instead make a building to house those jerks..

waise u seem to have a fetish for the word FANCY :)

From TOI ePaper Mon Mar. 17, 08

Grand Touch To Raj Square

TOI brings you the first glimpse of how BBD Bag will look like after a multi-crore rejuvenation project. It will rival the best heritage squares in the world
Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN

Kolkata: It took 14 years to make San Francisco’s Portsmouth Square picture perfect. And Trafalgar Square in London didn’t quite look as majestic until several view-obstructing buildings were demolished. Now, it’s Kolkata’s turn to make a few sacrifices to preserve one of the most heritage-rich squares on the planet.
After years of planning — and several delays — the state government is finally ready to start the Herculean task of transforming BBD Bag into a square comparable with St Marks in Venice, St Peters in Rome and the Red Square in Moscow.
The rejuvenation project involves beautifying the Hooghly riverfront and connecting it with the central business district at Dalhousie Square. The urban development department has been appointed the nodal agency to implement the rejuvenation drive. PowerPoint presentations on the project have already been made to Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, said Alapan Bandopadhyay, the nodal officer for the scheme. “A detailed project report will be prepared so that the government can send it to the ministry of urban development for funding under JNNURM.”
The state government hopes to start the project by early 2009 if the Centre sanctions the funds. “Money shouldn’t be a problem because the Centre will sponsor 50% of any heritage project. The main problem will be the pain that the city must go through to help complete the makeover,” said an official.
Everyone involved in the project is preoccupied with the pains that the city will have to go through. “It’s not going to be easy. We’ll see how we can overcome the hurdles,” said urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya. Department principal secretary P K Pradhan said a “lot of ground work” will have to be done before the project gets started.
The BBD Bag rejuvenation plan has been divided into two categories: architectural aesthetics and obstacles. The first involves restoration of heritage buildings and landscaping the square. An official said, “The heritage buildings have suffered much due to environmental degradation, unregulated traffic and encroachments,” said an official.
“But we are really concerned with the second category,” said the official. For, this will involve the mammoth task of relocating traffic and arranging parking facilities. “It has to be done without disturbing the economy of Dalhousie Square, which is not just a heritage site, but the business district as well.”
According to urban development officials, main entrances of all buildings in the area will have to be close. “Fortunately, most of them — including GPO, McLeod House, Telephone Bhavan and Stephen House — have rear entrances.”
The other crucial part is to demolish the upper floors of Telephone Bhavan, which is considered a major eye-sore. An official said, “If possible, the building will be reduced from eight to six floors. Some minor improvements may be introduced in the elevation and the building will be coloured red to match the ambience.”
Regulating traffic while the project is being implemented will be a huge challenge. Several roads will be blocked. These include: BBD Bag West (in front of GPO), BBD Bag North (in front of Writers’), BBD Bag East (in front of Stephen House) and a part of BBD Bag South.

PLUS-POINTS

Reduce traffic and introduce better traffic management
Parking facilities
Eastern envelope to be turned into commercial complex
Park redesigned to conform to ‘city square’ concept
Create open-air theatres, aquarium, floating music foundation, book, music stores, eateries and handicraft shops
Create setting for street plays, music, bands, folk dance, poetry reading and painting shows
Sound and light show, illumination and audio systems

HERITAGE BOOST


Integrating Laldighi with the rest of the area, highlighting the fountain
Highlighting of Writers’ Buildings, GPO and St Andrew’s Church
Dilapidated buildings on eastern envelope to get major makeover
Upper floors of Telephone Bhavan to be demolished
Existing trees to be retained
Pockets of greenery built with flowering plans
Street furniture, sculpture, artifacts and artwork to match architecture and history
Area largely paved for easy maintenance


TRAFFIC TONIC



Only traffic headed for BBD Square will be allowed during peak hours
Roads on the rear of buildings used during other times of the day

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14625309

Here's another rendering of the JW Marriott Hotel being developed by Emaar-MGF next to the EM Bypass -

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9932/kolkatajwmarriottbz0.jpg

Here's another rendering of the JW Marriott Hotel being developed by Emaar-MGF next to the EM Bypass -

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9932/kolkatajwmarriottbz0.jpg

^^Looks cool. Thanks IU!. Do you have any renders of the DLF Hilton hotel coming up on the plot next to Emaar ?

Zip, Zap, Zoom
Metro goes on a test drive, first into today then tomorrow…

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080323/images/23zapbig.jpg

TODAY: Driving from the airport into the city down VIP Road, one is spoilt for choice on wheels. Windsor Honda, RD Motors, Mukesh Hyundai, Jalan Distributors and Shah Automobiles. Welcome to the first car corridor of Calcutta.

TOMORROW: The Bypass stretch between the Beleghata connector and the Ruby Hospital roundabout will be all flashy neons and glass panelled multi-tiered showrooms with impressive front elevations. BMW, Hyundai, Honda, General Motors, Toyota, Ford… you name it and this stretch will have it before the year runs its course. Welcome to the second car corridor of Calcutta.

THE NORTH CORRIDOR

The Players

Mukesh Hyundai and Windsor Honda gave Calcuttans a taste of the first 3S (sales, service, spares) dealership in town. Both hit the road in October 1998. “We were among the first 3S dealerships in the country,” claims Partha Dutta, the manager of Mukesh Hyundai, sprawled over three floors and 24,000 sq ft. “The 3S facility is an international concept and most auto manufacturers around the globe insist on the sales, service and spares outlets to be together. Here, because of lack of space, the workshops and sales outlets are split,” says Amit Manaktala of Topsel Toyota.

After Mukesh Hyundai and Windsor Honda came RD Motors with its 6,500 sq ft showroom on the same stretch. Then Jalan arrived on VIP Road to hard-sell Maruti vehicles with a double-storeyed shop. Hindustan Motors with its acquired Mitsubishi brand at Shah Automobiles was also in the VIP Road race.

The Display

The sales sections at these dealerships are mainly housed on the first floor of a large glass-panelled showroom overlooking the thoroughfare. Space is squeezed out for the service area and spares under one roof. So for the customer it’s a one-stop shop to buy, service and repair. Most dealerships also accommodate used cars to cash in on the booming second-hand market. The used car section of Mukesh Hyundai is chock-a-block with Santros.

Customer Convenience

Drive in and rest in air-conditioned comfort with freshly brewed tea/coffee from the dispenser. Catch some live cricket action on TV or browse through latest issues of Overdrive or Autocar while your precious four-wheeler is repaired, serviced, cleaned or readied. “Customer is king and we treat him like one. We have separate lounges for the self-driven customer and those for drivers,” said Nitin Himmatsingka, the director of Mukesh Hyundai.

Paperwork, insurance, road tax and pollution certificate are taken care of by most dealers.

THE SOUTH CORRIDOR

“As space becomes a premium in the central business district and prime residential areas, EM Bypass has become a happy hunting ground for dealers looking for maximum space along with visibility. Free and ample parking space and less congested roads for test drives are some of the other advantages,” says Mohammad Rashid, the divisional operations manager of Ford (East).

The Players

At the Spring Arcade on the Bypass, Spring Hyundai has just opened shop this month. Come June, German giant BMW will have its first showroom in Calcutta here. Drive further down the Bypass and Japanese biggie Honda awaits you with the eastern India’s largest 3S dealership at Anandapur.

By the year-end, Topsel Toyota will give its country rival fierce competition with an 75,000 sq ft seven-storeyed showroom. And squeezed in between the two is former global leader GM with its dealer Dulichand Motors, which was the first to seek southern comfort by setting up shop here in 2005. And that’s not all. Ford with its Ganges Ford showroom on Topsia Road, not far away, will open its second showroom opposite the Honda address.

The Scale

Compared to the north corridor, the auto mall down south promises to be bigger and better.

If Mukesh Hyundai boasts of an 18,000 sq ft area over three floors with an additional 6,000 sq ft outside, Pinnacle Honda has a whopping 85,000 sq ft over five floors and Topsel Toyota 100,000 sq ft.

Pinnacle Honda, the newest Honda dealership, is the largest in eastern India. “It’s the first dealership in eastern India to offer the largest world-class state-of-the-art Honda 3S facilities,” claims Vinayak Nayar, the director of Pinnacle Honda who has diversified into auto dealership from pearl trade.

Topsel Toyota, that has bought 1,00,000 sq ft space right next to Shrachi Towers is planning a seven-floor 75,000 sq ft dealership. Designed by Dulal Mukherjee it will be operational in 2008. “We bought the land in 2002-03 with the idea of setting up a second dealership when the time was right,” says Manaktala of Topsel Toyota, who currently has a 30,000 sq ft showroom in Maheshtala. With Toyota’s compact car due in 2009-10, the Bypass biggie is billed to steer sales.

The Servicing

It’s the need for space rather than speed that is drawing dealers to the Bypass auto mall, to sell and to service.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080323/images/23auto6.jpg
Of the 85,000 sq ft, Pinnacle has devoted only 5,000 sq ft for sales display. Most of the rest is used for state-of-the-art service stations spread over the ground, third and fourth floors. The ground floor houses the Quick Service Repair, handling routine service, check-ups and cleaning. The third floor has the engine overhaul room, the paint booth and another 10 bay workshop dealing with accident vehicles and general repair.

Pinnacle Honda has the capacity to service 70 cars a day while Mukesh Hyundai caters to about 40 cars a day.
The Car-o-tronic scanner at Pinnacle Honda

With larger workshops come sophisticated equipment ready to handle vehicles swift and smooth. Pinnacle Honda’s claim to be “the largest fully automated Honda showroom-cum-service centre” means that it takes just under two hours for routine preventive maintenance service. The service station has among other things the Brake Lathe that cuts and levels brake discs, a job that most service stations outsource to lathe operators.

The Rs 5-lakh electric Car-o-tronic scanner scans and detects malfunctions in a car without the mechanic even touching it. Engine scanners, gas analysers, AC-charging machines help the 42 in-house technicians deal with accident vehicles. And then there’s the Quick Service Trolley, four in number, holding the hand tools, pneumatic guns, instant tyre pressure checks and blow air guns. Scissor lifts, two-post and four-post lifts help in wheel balancing and alignments. With two car lifts, two passenger lifts and one goods lift, mobility here is easy both for the cars and their owners.

Green Wheels

Pollution control is a major issue for auto dealers with the pollution control board (PCB) officials dropping in for inspections. Waste oil is collected in vats and sold to government authorised vendors and energy saving fluorescent lights line the premises at Pinnacle Honda.

All Toyota dealerships are required to be ISO 14001 certified with an in-built system to keep the workshop pollution free. “There should be a water treatment plant together with pollution norms in place. We are required to file PCB returns every year and officials visit our dealership to check ambient air and effluents from the workshop. Besides, care is taken to see that lubricants don’t seep into the soil. Large containers for oil byproducts are used,” says Manaktala.

A water treatment plant right in front of Pinnacle Honda separates the grease and water, processes the water and recycles it. “We also recycle waste and have an effluent treatment plant,” says general manager Ranjan Srivastava, adding that they will apply for the ISO certification once fully operational.

ISO certification requires auto dealerships to fulfil norms like responding to all correspondence within 24 hours, following pollution control norms and maintaining facilities like adequate fire fighting equipment, sewage treatment, mandatory worker benefits like PF and ESI facilities, apart from other things.

ANASUYA BASU
PICTURES BY KISHOR ROY CHOWDHURY

Here's another rendering of the JW Marriott Hotel being developed by Emaar-MGF next to the EM Bypass -

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9932/kolkatajwmarriottbz0.jpg

HI, CAN U TEL ME HOW TALL THE BULIDING IS AND THE LOCATION MAP OF THIS HOTEL. ALSO THE SITE ADDRESS FOR THIS HOTEL.
THE HOTEL LOOKS COOL THOUGH!

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9484/p3240004bw8.jpg

HI, CAN U TEL ME HOW TALL THE BULIDING IS AND THE LOCATION MAP OF THIS HOTEL. ALSO THE SITE ADDRESS FOR THIS HOTEL.
THE HOTEL LOOKS COOL THOUGH!

We would have to go with the count as in the render unless other details are known. The location as I understand is shown below:
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/166/emaarmgfyg5.jpg

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Kolkata--s-IT---ITeS-among-India--s-fastest-growing-SMEs--D-B/288345/

Kolkata's IT & ITeS among India's fastest growing SMEs: D&B

Kolkata, Mar 25 IT & ITeS Companies, operating in and around Kolkata, will be among India's fastest growing Companies in the small and medium sector, according to Dun & Bradstreed, the world's leading business information and knowledge provider.

Chief operating officer Kaushal Sampat, who launched the sixth publication of the series, SME Clusters in India', here on Tuesday, said IT and ITeS Companies operating in the vicinity of Kolkata expect an annual average revenue growth of 57% over the next two years as against 22% during the last two years.

Dun & Bradstreet covered and profiled 1,800 Companies across India for the said publication taking each geographical location as a cluster.

Sampat said New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune were each taken as a cluster, and for every cluster four most vibrant sectors were identified, under which Companies were covered and profiled.

Dun & Bradstreet covered four sectors-food processing, engineering, textiles and IT & ITeS for the Kolkata cluster and profiled 342 Companies in its publication. Out of that, 164 Companies belong to the engineering sector, 29 to the food processing, 97 to the textile and 52 to the IT and IteS sector.

Sampat said while engineering sector Companies expect an average annual revenue growth of 38% in the next two years; Companies belong to food processing, textile and IT & ITeS sectors expect 33%, 35% and 57%, respectively.

He said although 50 of these Companies' revenues come from exports, especially to the US, appreciating ruppee would not be a factor so far as growth is concerned.

The Companies, proflied by Dun & Bradstreet, get a global exposure and increased opportunities for doing businesses jointly with foreign Companies.

Where is Highland Woods ?
I can see Sunrise Point (on the left) and Akankha (tallest buildings). Only a very small portion of Highland Woods is visible on the right :)
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/9484/p3240004bw8.jpg

Where is Highland Woods ?
I can see Sunrise Point (on the left) and Akankha (tallest buildings). Only a very small portion of Highland Woods is visible on the right :)

yes, you are right. Thanks for pointing this out.:)

Statesman (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=196771)

Food processing park at Amtala

KOLKATA March 26: A mega food processing park, an initiative of the West Bengal Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBIDC) in association with the Salarpuria Group and the Eden City Group, is going to be set up at Amtala in South 24 Parganas.
At the foundation laying ceremony, Mr Nirupam Sen, West Bengal minister for commerce and industries, said that the produce of the land has increased and change was required. Around 30 per cent of produce is lost due to its perishable nature.
Such projects would provide a mechanism to assemble farmers, processors and retailers, and link the agricultural production to the market.
Mr Indrajit De, chairman of Eden City Group said that the primary objective of the project was to facilitate the establishment of an integrated value chain with processing at the core.
The 125 acre plot would have the entire cold chain, warehousing facilities and a 'krishi bazar' with marketing yards for agro products among its facilities. There would be 50-80 processing units. Letters of intent have been already been received from 15 vendors.
Similar food processing parks have already been set up in Sankrail and Malda, with 3 more on the pipeline.
There is going to be an investment of Rs 300 crore on the park with Rs 150 crore being allotted for infrastructure and Rs 150 crore for support infrastructure. The park should be ready for use in two and a half years.
Meanwhile, the Salarpuria Group will be setting up a hotel in Rajarhat in collaboration with Accor. The 350-room four star hotel would start in six months. A 150-bunglow residential project has been planned for Bakrahat.
The group is also looking to set up two IT parks, one in Bantala for which 40 acres have been acquired, and one in Kalyani for which the land acquisition is in progress.

Statesman (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=196931)

Runway plan runs into rough weather

KOLKATA, March 27: The state government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) today grappled with the problem of getting land for building the third runway of the NSC Bose airport with the state pledging to make at least 1,500 acres of land available for the purpose in Narayanpur mouza, on the Eastern side of the airport.
A meeting between officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI), state transport minister and local CPI-M leaders including MP, Mr Amitava Nandy revealed that nearly 2,300 acres of land would be required for setting up the third runway on the eastern side of the the NSC Bose airport. However, the dense habitation around airport would certainly pose a problem for acquisition.
Mr SPS Bakshi, executive director (projects) of AAI later said: “The third runway is in conceptual stage. Kolkata would be an important business hub in years to come. If we consider the expansion plans for the next 50 years we would certainly need a third runway. The more land we get the better but with minimum displacement.” However, the state government assured AAI officials of making available at least 1,500 acres of land within two kilometers of the airport. Incidentally, the chief minister himself is very keen for setting up a third runway for the NSC Bose airport.
Since the airport, after modernisation would have enhance capacity of handling a total 24 million passenger traffic per year, it was pointed out in the meeting that the approach road to the airport, on the intersection of Jessore road and VIP road would witness major traffic snarls. The elevated circular railway tracks are also coming in the way of construction of a flyover at the intersection to ease traffic flow.
An alternative temporary solution has been proposed by constructing a road behind the airport hotel to connect VIP road with Jessore road. AAI officials would also meet railway officials with a proposal to replace the circular railway with metro services.
Mr Bakshi also said that tendering for the modernisation plans would be done immediately and work would start after the Public Investment Board clears the project which would then be completed in 30 months.

Godrej Waterside under construction

photo copyright Simon

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5613/godrejmaybesimonsfd4.jpg

Render

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1440/12px2.jpg

PTI building , Sector V

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8629/22022008369no9.jpg

New town project is the only pride of left front government. Read the report to know how it is really progressing :bash:
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/CAG-pulls-up-housing-corporation-over-rehab/289877/

CAG pulls up housing corporation over rehab

Express news service
Posted online: Saturday , March 29, 2008 at 12:53:58
Updated: Saturday , March 29, 2008 at 12:53:58
Print Email To Editor Post Comments


Kolkata, March 28 The Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India has pulled up the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corp (Hidco) for its failure to rehabilitate families ousted from Rajarhat for the New Town project.

Hidco began the land acquisition in 1999 but till March 2007, it had rehabilitated only 17 per cent of the ousted families, according to CAG’s report for the year to March 31, 2007.

“The rehabilitation of project oustees was not adequate, as only 17 per cent of identified project affected families, whose dwelling units had been acquired, were rehabilitated,” the CAG has noted.

The report said according to the HIDCO management, “a good percentage of land owners are outsiders” and “a certain percentage of families are above the poverty line”.

The CAG report has also highlighted how planning for the New Town project lacks focus, leading to sharp cost increases and slow implementation.

Only 52 per cent of the projected land has been acquired and the delay in acquisition led to an extra cost of Rs 78.76 crore.

“Even after eight years’ of existence, the company had yet to acquire and develop 3,075 hectares of land in three phases due to non-preparation of detailed project reports, annual work plans and absence of coordination between land acquisition and development,” the report notes.

Another Rs 78.98 crore was lost due to delays of 10 to 65 months in awarding contracts for land development, unrealistic estimates, selection of non-qualified contractors and failure to arrange earth required for land filling.

Hidco, the CAG said, had not fixed fair and reasonable market prices for land to be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894, leading to short payment of Rs 50.34 crore as compensation to land owners.

On other instances, it made excess payments of Rs 67.58 crore to land owners under three mouzas.

Hidco had not adopted appropriate rates for different items of work relating to land development either, leading to an additional expenditure of Rs 57.66 crore.

Further, the company paid Rs 40.10 crore to various contractors on account of inadmissible items and doubtful works.

The measurement of work was neither cross-checked nor reconciled, leading to doubtful payments to contractors, the report notes.

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said her party had been the first party to point out the plight of Rajarhat.

“We have been continuously saying that there is corruption in Rajarhat land acquisition process. And now it is official. The CAG also confirmed it,” said Mamata.

“The government should bring out a white paper about the nitty gritty of the Rajarhat land scam,” she added.

CAG reports are interesting but it is always easy to find faults and mistakes. But these reports just seem to be an excercise in futilty except for scoring political points. If the agencies learnt any lessons then it would be a positive fallout.

Anyway this report should come in handy for the politicians and activists who are trying their best to scuttle the Dankuni township project and other development projects like highway expansion, port construction and industrialization.


But I am a little puzzled by this claim:

“Even after eight years’ of existence, the company had yet to acquire and develop 3,075 hectares of land in three phases due to non-preparation of detailed project reports, annual work plans and absence of coordination between land acquisition and development,” the report notes.

The original township was supposed to be of 3,075 ha - Action Area I (660 hectares), Action Area II (1,040 hectares), Area III (1,375 hectares). So is the report claiming that land was not acquired as of 31st March 2007?

Where is Highland Woods ?
I can see Sunrise Point (on the left) and Akankha (tallest buildings). Only a very small portion of Highland Woods is visible on the right :)

Here's one with all three

photo copyright Sid

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/8172/rajarhat2sidaoy5.jpg

CAG reports are interesting but it is always easy to find faults and mistakes. But these reports just seem to be an excercise in futilty except for scoring political points. If the agencies learnt any lessons then it would be a positive fallout.

Anyway this report should come in handy for the politicians and activists who are trying their best to scuttle the Dankuni township project and other development projects like highway expansion, port construction and industrialization.


But I am a little puzzled by this claim:

“Even after eight years’ of existence, the company had yet to acquire and develop 3,075 hectares of land in three phases due to non-preparation of detailed project reports, annual work plans and absence of coordination between land acquisition and development,” the report notes.

The original township was supposed to be of 3,075 ha - Action Area I (660 hectares), Action Area II (1,040 hectares), Area III (1,375 hectares). So is the report claiming that land was not acquired as of 31st March 2007?

Okay. I read the report. It should have probably read - the company had yet to acquire and develop parts of 3,075 hectares of land. It does say in the report that 2806 ha of land was acquired between November 1996 and March 2007. That is about 91% of target for phases I, II and III. It is about 52% of proposed land aquisition of 5400 ha (confusion exists as to whether the additional expansion is on or off).

Bengal Shrachi and Bengal Peerless

photo copyright sid

http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/3088/rajarhatactionarea2sidscs1.jpg

Bengal DCL

Towers I, II and III

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/5025/090107dsc02237apb2.jpg http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/6617/dsc02486xr9.jpg

Godrej Waterside under construction

photo copyright Simon

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5613/godrejmaybesimonsfd4.jpg

Render

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1440/12px2.jpg

very good work sun. can u tell me though how tall the towers r? also can u giv me a location map of the project or the project's home site on the net.

Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority had floated tenders for construction of a flyover between Eastern Metropolitan Bypass at its crossing with VIP Road near Ultadanga Crossing. The project estimated to cost Rs 70 crore is still under finalising the contractor, said Deb Das Bhattacharya, CEO, KMDA.
The first tender was cancelled by the competent authority and it was re-invited to which it has received a single bid from Mackintosh Burn Limited, a state government firm which has also been cancelled. Now KMDA has asked the authority whether to re-invite the tender or negotiate with the firm for further process.
KMDA has appointed Bengal CES Infratech Pvt. Ltd as consultant for the project and to prepare a detailed report.
The proposed flyover will be a four-lane between EMPB and KNIS. The length, excluding the arm on northern side of New Cut Canal, is about 1,250 m with 2+2 four-lane carriage way.
A slip road connecting Kazi Nazrullslam Sarani (VIP Road) to EMBP near the first entry point to Salt Lake City from EMBP is also on the cards. This will reduce the traffic jam at CIT Road-Ultadanga Main Road-VIP Road junction by enabling the traffic on EMBP-VIP Road to avoid Ultadanga point. The estimated cost of the slip road is about Rs 5 crore.
The tentative project cost has been escalated from Rs 43 crore, including 12.5 per cent A&S charges of the department, to Rs 70 crore. When complete, it will help fast movement of traffic mainly towards airport and minimise traffic congestion on the first entry of Salt Lake from E.M. Bypass.
KMDA has been entrusted to construct a flyover on VIP Road between Dum Dum Park and Jora Mandir. KMDA is in the process of arranging funds for the flyover. The project estimated to cost more than Rs 300 crore will be constructed on PPP basis he said. He further stated the construction of the two flyovers will not only ease traffic congestion but also boost infrastructure of the state.

^^ The link for the above piece is http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detailnews.asp?newsid=15758

Not sure why Projects Monitor has posted this news with a recent date. Mackintosh Burn has already started construction of the flyover from EM Bypass to KNIS

can u tell me though how tall the towers r?

No clue about height but floorwise:

Tower I: 11 floors
Tower II: 18 floors

also can u giv me a location map of the project or the project's home site on the net.

http://www.infinityitpark.com/waterside.html

Bantala Housing

website says status ongoing.

http://www.hrg-india.com/bantala_housing.html

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/7527/introox2.jpg

^^Looks cool. Thanks IU!. Do you have any renders of the DLF Hilton hotel coming up on the plot next to Emaar ?

Couldn't find it anywhere. btw, thanks for all the cool updates and images from Kolkata. You should have created a new thread in the showcase gallery to make your images more visible to everyone.

:cheers:

HI, CAN U TEL ME HOW TALL THE BULIDING IS AND THE LOCATION MAP OF THIS HOTEL. ALSO THE SITE ADDRESS FOR THIS HOTEL.
THE HOTEL LOOKS COOL THOUGH!

All i know is that it'll be located next to the EM bypass. Maybe Suncity can answer your other questions.

Statesman News Service (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=197453)

Elevated Budge Budge-Taratala road on cards

KOLKATA, March 31: The state urban development department is planning to build an elevated road over the Budge Budge-Taratala road on a private public partnership basis to ease traffic congestion on the stretch.
With two new townships coming up along with hospitals and IT and ITeS companies near Maheshtala there is a projection of eight per cent growth in traffic in coming years.
The PWD has plans to widen the existing stretch near Budge Budge into a six lane thoroughfare while the Taratala road can be widened into a four lane road. Hence the state urban development department has planned to build a 7.2 km elevated road in that stretch on a build-operate-transfer basis through KMDA and a private partner. This is the first of its kind project in the state.
“The general public can use the four lane road while those who are ready to pay more to get to their destinations faster, can opt for the elevated road after paying toll tax,” said an official of the department. Other departments like PWD and transport have agreed to the proposal. The department had to convince the PWD for getting no objection since the Taratala-Budge Budge road is under PWD. The department is planning to fund the project through the viability gap funding. The joint venture consultant company, Bengal Urban Infrastructure Development Private Limited company will now prepare a detailed project report for the elevated road after a feasibility study. Then the KMDA would call for expression of interest from private investors for the project.

^^

Realtor to build road for its Batanagar township

TOI epaper

Riverbank Holdings will not just build a township in Batanagar, but also a road on the way. For, there will not be any takers for the Rs 1,300-crore mega township project unless there is proper connectivity.
The state government has planned a seven-kilometre elevated road between Jinjira More and Batanagar and the funds will come from the developers of the Calcutta Riverside project. It has asked Riverbank Holdings, the developer of the 260 acre-township in Batanagar, to fund the construction of this long stretch. PWD, which currently maintains the stretch, is all set to identify the land for the road.
The road, essentially a toll way, will be built on a build, operate and transfer basis. The developer will realise the cost of the project through the toll tax collected over a period of time and then hand it back to the government.
“We are willing to give the land to this private company for construction of the road. We have held some meetings already and are keen on having the road built by the developer of the township,” said PWD minister Kshiti Goswami.
The government is also trying to strike a similar deal with the developers of South City project, who have offered to fund a flyover on Prince Anwar Shah Road.
“When we started marketing our project, we received a common feedback from the prospective buyers. They wanted to know about the connectivity to the township. That’s when talks among PWD, transport and urban development departments were initiated and everyone felt that the elevated road. sponsored by the developers themselves, was the best way out,” said Nandu Belani, director of Calcutta Riverside projects.
“The road will start just after Taratala and continue till Batanagar and beyond. It will turn out to be a major connectivity in that part of the city,” he added.
Goswami said his department would identify land for the elevated road. “We, too, will have to spare some land from within our project area for this elevated road,” said
Sumit Dabriwala, managing director of Riverbank Holdings.
Riverbank Holdings, which has already started constructing the township that will house hospitals, IT companies, retail outlets, educational institutions, hotels and residential complexes, is in a hurry to begin construction of the road. “Our township will come up in five years. We hope the road, too, will be in place by then,” Belani pointed out.

HI, CAN U TEL ME HOW TALL THE BULIDING IS AND THE LOCATION MAP OF THIS HOTEL. ALSO THE SITE ADDRESS FOR THIS HOTEL.
THE HOTEL LOOKS COOL THOUGH!


The JW Mariott hotel would be atleast 19 floors as mentioned in this link
http://www.hindu.com/2008/04/02/stories/2008040256341500.htm

LIC Building

The restoration of both Great Eastern and LIC buliding seems to have fallen on the slow track:ohno:

http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/7374/p3290003cr3.jpg

^^

Realtor to build road for its Batanagar township

TOI epaper

Taratola to Batanagar? It's a long way.
Good to see the developers are thinking big. What does it mean by elevated road? Will it be a long fly-over?

Source (http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=8&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=318570&tab=r)

Denmark-based Centre for TeleInfrastruktur (CTIF), which launched its India operations in Kolkata at the Calcutta University (CU) in December 2007, has applied for land for an independent campus in Kolkata.

CTIF, a worldwide research centre, will start PhD courses at the Radio Physics and Electronics department of CU from July this year. The Masters programme would be started in 2009.

The courses would evaluate students on the basis of research projects. The innovations would also be commercialised.

Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata, Ramjee Prasad, director of CTIF, said, “We plan to initiate research-baed education at CU. We have also applied for land for an independent campus which we plan to set up within the next seven years.”

“When we start our PhD courses in July this year, we will be able to accommodate around 10-12 students initially at the CU campus. These would be employees of TCS and Nokia, who have confirmed their participation. We will train the students in research-based project work and their evaluation would depend on the kind of innovation they can come up with. Also, the innovation would be commercialised so that the thesis is not forgotten once the student completed course.”

“We have also spoken to BSNL in Kolkata which has also shown interest in sending employees to pursue this course,” Prasad added.

According to Prasad, the companies sending employees to pursue the course will bear all expenses.

Debesh Das, West Bengal’s information technology minister, said, “CU and CTIF are well known for quality research. While the government will grant the CTIF adequate land to begin an independent campus, CU and CTIF will be able to complement each other with the expertise they have in the field of research.”

The independent campus for CTIF, which is expected to be operational in another seven years, is expected to house 1,100 people. It is expected to house 200 students each for masters and PhD programmes, along with 100 faculty and 100 non-teaching members. The campus is also expected to have 500 engineers.

“Funds will be provided by the companies sending their employees for research activities at the campus, from European Commission as well as from the West Bengal government,” informed Prasad.

As of now, the new CTIF centre at CU is expected to benefit several information technology (IT) companies as well, in terms of skilled manpower capable of bringing about innovations which could be Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protected.

For instance, WIP Labs, which is a premier innovation company, will be able to find ready talent at the CTIF who could join its laboratory at Taratola in Kolkata, operational from July this year.

WIP Labs is into possessing wireless networking as the core competence in 3G, WiMAX, Wi-Fi and future generation wireless technologies with the focus to become the world leader in 4G. The objective of WIP Labs is to generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), lead standardization, and bring products to commercialization.

According to Rajeev Prasad, director of WIP Labs, “Once our laboratory is functional in Kolkata, we will make products on the wireless innovation platform, solutions for network planning, mobile applications, among other services and products. We will start with around 20 employees in July this year.”

Added Das, “With CTIF, a centre to churn out quality researchers who could bring about innovations that could be commercialised, is sure to attract several quality industries and companies to West Bengal. The government has also decided that its thrust areas would be chip designing industries, animation and multimedia companies and wireless companies.”

Source (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JS00vMjAwOC8wNC8wNCNBcjAwMjAw&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom)

Come April 25, and it will be time for tipplers in Kolkata to raise a farewell toast to the city’s oldest liquor supplier. Shareholders of the 123-year-old Shaw Wallace & Company Ltd — among the oldest liquor companies in Asia — will give their nod to the merger of the company with United Spirits Ltd, the holding firm of Vijay Mallya, at an extraordinary general meeting. The passing of the resolution will formally bring down the curtain on an institution that has symbolised the city’s good life for more than a century.

“After the meeting, there will be no company called Shaw Wallace in this universe. A symbol of Kolkata’s glorious corporate past will pass into history,” a shareholder of the company said. SWC started operations in Kolkata in January 1886, primarily as a managing agent. David Shaw and C W Wallace were the founder partners in the business of buying and trading in tea and raw jute as well as manufactured Bengal silk. Wallace House, the headquarters of Shaw Wallace, was built in 1910.

Science City is likely to play host to the last meeting of the liquor giant, which once used to be among the top blue chip companies of the country. Incidentally, Mallya bought Shaw Wallace from Manu Chhabria’s Jumbo group in late 2005. Wallace House is now being converted into the headquarters of UB group in the eastern region.

Some large renderings of the U/C Unitech Heights at Uniworld city from a PDF (http://www.unitechgroup.com/projects/residential/kolkata/unitech_heights/floors/UnitechHeights.pdf). If renderings of this size have been posted before, then Sun please delete.

Most of these can be further enlarged by clicking on them.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9835/uni2zc2.jpg (http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/862/uni2ms5.jpg)


http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9995/uni3eg9.jpg


http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2954/uni1pt0om8.jpg (http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/8207/uni1um6.jpg)



http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6537/uni4hk0.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7765/uni4hu4.jpg)


http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6858/uni5mh4kk4.jpg (http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/7590/uni5mh4.jpg)



Some more renderings of Uniworld City from RMJM's website (http://www.rmjmasia.com/portfolio):

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8/22938130cd0.jpg


http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2672/15771245sy5.jpg


http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/2466/84656258sx6.jpg


http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1554/17555804uh5.jpg

IU

thanks man. wow!! Calcutta's future is looking so bright. great looking skyline coming up. Unitech Group is easily one of the best real estate guys in India.

Some large renderings of the U/C Unitech Heights at Uniworld city from a PDF (http://www.unitechgroup.com/projects/residential/kolkata/unitech_heights/floors/UnitechHeights.pdf). If renderings of this size have been posted before, then Sun please delete.

Most of these can be further enlarged by clicking on them.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9835/uni2zc2.jpg (http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/862/uni2ms5.jpg)


http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/9995/uni3eg9.jpg


http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2954/uni1pt0om8.jpg (http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/8207/uni1um6.jpg)



http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/6537/uni4hk0.jpg (http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/7765/uni4hu4.jpg)


http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6858/uni5mh4kk4.jpg (http://img357.imageshack.us/img357/7590/uni5mh4.jpg)



Some more renderings of Uniworld City from RMJM's website (http://www.rmjmasia.com/portfolio):

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8/22938130cd0.jpg


http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2672/15771245sy5.jpg


http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/2466/84656258sx6.jpg


http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/1554/17555804uh5.jpg

IU - thanks for sharing the renders of Rajarhat's largest real estate project.:)

^^^^
Wow

Looks nice, but I am confused. Is the proposed plan made by Unitech or RMJM?
I looked at their website and it seems as if its an oriental company.

The plan is made by RMJM - a British architectural firm. BTW, Uniworld city is U/C right now and not in the proposal stage.

Not sure if this was posted earlier..

Kolkata Convention Center, Rajarhat
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1244/kolkataconventioncentrexp6.jpg

ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Emaar_MGF_to_invest_Rs_1300_cr_for_three_hotels_in_Kolkata/articleshow/2928918.cms)

KOLKATA: Riding on the boom in hospitality industry here, real estate developer Emaar MGF Ltd on Saturday announced setting up of three new star hotels in Kolkata at an investment of Rs 1,300 crore.

"The company is developing three hotels in the luxury segment in Kolkata; JW Marriott and Holiday Inn on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and Park Hyatt at Russell Street," Emaar MGF COO (hospitality) Sanjiv Rai said.

Marriot and Holiday Inn, to be situated on adjacent sites, would cost Rs 750 crore, while Park Hyatt in the heart of the metropolis would entail an investment of Rs 550 crore, he said.

"Construction of the Bypass hotels, with 250 guest rooms each, will start in a month and will take around three years to be completed," he said.

Park Hyatt would also be ready by mid-2012, Rai said. Emaar MGF Land, a joint venture between MGF Development and Emaar Properties of Dubai, is also planning to develop a mixed-use area with housing, hospitality and shopping facilities.

arijeetb

this render is a repeated one.

Can anyone pl provide the update of Unitech Air?

TOI (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Indl_Goods__Svs/Chinas_Dongfang_plans_base_in_Kolkata/articleshow/2931324.cms)

China's Dongfang plans base in Kolkata

KOLKATA: China’s largest power equipment manufacturer Dongfang Electric (DEC), which is in the process of setting up a service centre in Kolkata, may build a power equipment manufacturing base in India. If plans materialise, this would be DEC’s first manufacturing unit outside China.

With the Indian power sector on a massive expansion mode, the country is facing huge power equipment shortage with Bhel struggling hard to stick to supply schedules.

Looking at this as an opportunity, DEC is keen on setting up base in India. “We would be looking at setting up a power equipment manufacturing unit in India after we have completed the service centre,” said DEC president Wen Shugang told ET.


“We are in the process of setting up a service centre at New Town in Kolkata, after which we will take a decision on the manufacturing base. Nevertheless, the size, investment and location of the unit has not been considered as of now,” he added.

Mr Shugang said: “DEC’s annual manufacturing capacity for thermal power equipment is more than 20,000 mw. Hydro products manufacturing capacity is about 3,500 mw per year.”

The Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080407/jsp/calcutta/story_9091647.jsp)

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/2354/07metrobigxl6.jpg
The proposed East-West Metro, which will run 13 km from Salt Lake to Howrah station, is set to be a reality by 2012. Around 100 feet of the stretch, between Mahakaran (BBD Bag) and Howrah stations, will be under the Hooghly.

“Work will start in 2008 and the project will be commissioned early next decade,” said state transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury.

A transport department official, who did not wish to be named, said the government has set 2012 as the deadline for starting the train service.

The 12 stations on the route will be Howrah, Mahakaran, Central, Bowbazar, Sealdah, Phoolbagan, Salt Lake stadium, Bengal Chemical, City Centre, Central Park, Karunamoyee and Sector V. The route will intersect the existing North-South Metro at Central.

The official said the East-West Metro may later be extended up to Ramrajatala, in Howrah. Of the 13 km, the train will run five km on elevated tracks.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) will provide Rs 4,677 crore — around half the project cost of Rs 10,000 crore — as soft loan. The rest will be borne by the central and the state governments.

The Centre signed the loan agreement with the Japan bank in March, after chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s request to Union finance finance minister P. Chidambaram to accord “top priority” to the project.

The project will be executed by Calcutta Metro Railway Corporation Limited, of which transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury is managing director. The secretary in the Union urban development ministry is ex-officio chairman. Of the eight directors, four each will be from the state and central governments.

The company, awaiting formal approval of the Centre, has started functioning from the ground floor of Writers’ Buildings. It will later shift to the building housing the office of the Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners.

Rites, an undertaking of the railway ministry, has started a survey work for the project.

Chowdhury had on Thursday held a meeting at Writers’ Buildings to discuss the resettlement of the 600-odd people who would have to vacate their houses or business establishments to make room for Mahakaran and Central stations.

According to the proposal, the affected people will be relocated on transport department land off Poddar Court and on AJC Bose Road.

dear arijeetb,

There is a small mistake in the first para(as in the original news also) which says about 100 feet stretch between Mahakaran and Howrah station will be under the river Hoogly. The width of the river is more than 1000 feet at that stretch. So how it can be 100 feet under the river? This may be due to omitting one zeor in the figure.

dear arijeetb,

There is a small mistake in the first para(as in the original news also) which says about 100 feet stretch between Mahakaran and Howrah station will be under the river Hoogly. The width of the river is more than 1000 feet at that stretch. So how it can be 100 feet under the river? This may be due to omitting one zeor in the figure.

^^yes, I noticed it. They missed out a zero.

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Swraj-Paul-gears-up-for-Nano-project-praises-Bengal/293977/

Swraj Paul gears up for Nano project, praises Bengal

Kolkata, April 7 The ancillary auto-parts manufacturing unit of Caparo Engineering India Pvt Ltd at Singur will be ready by the time Tata Motors is prepared to roll out its Rs 1 lakh car project.
This was announced on Monday by Swraj Paul— founder and chairman of Euro 2 billion Caparo Group — who led a delegation of British parliamentarians to Kolkata. “Ten per cent of the auto components of Nano will be manufactured at Caparo,” the India-born British tycoon said, after a meeting with officials of the department of commerce and industries led by the minister Nirupam Sen. “We will be ready by the time Tata Motors’ project is ready. Because, we can not let them down,” Paul said.

Presentations were made before the delegation about the industrial resurgence of the state. Paul showered praises on West Bengal that the state has the third largest economy amongst the Indian states.

“ We can safely go and tell our colleagues who are interested in the state that Bengal is marching ahead,” said Paul. “West Bengal is on the verge of transformation from agrarian to industrial economy and we need foreign investments in the state,” Sen said.

Earlier Paul visited the state assembly and met Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim and chairmen of various standing committees. The British industrialist is visiting Singur today to see the progress at the Tata Motors factory and the site where the ancillary units are coming up.

The shape of the east-west line is really strange. Perhaps they should have built multiple lines?