Not sure if this was posted earlier..

Kolkata Convention Center, Rajarhat
http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1244/kolkataconventioncentrexp6.jpg

There are more awesome renderings posted by Jai here --> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=18446226&postcount=606

The shape of the east-west line is really strange. Perhaps they should have built multiple lines?

^^It is most likely not drawn to any sort of scale. It would be challenging though when it comes to digging underground through sharp curves as in the case of the tracks between Salt lake stadium and Bengal Chemical stations.

Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080408/jsp/calcutta/story_9106369.jsp)

Flyover fix for southern snarls
- Rs 100 crores for high-speed roads at Golf Green, Dhakuria
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080408/images/08zzconnectivity.jpg
An artist’s impression of the project for smoother traffic flow in south Calcutta
A clutch of transport projects has been readied to ease the traffic snarls at the Lords crossing of Prince Anwar Shah Road and on Raja SC Mullick Road.

The Rs 100-crore plan, christened Deep South Intervention Project, comprises

A flyover at the Lords crossing and another on Raja SC Mullick Road, between Dhakuria and Jadavpur

Widening of Raja SC Mullick Road in Baishnabghata

Laying a road from South City to Ghulam Mohammad Shah Road.

The project, to be handled jointly by the civic body and the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), was finalised at a recent meeting called by chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb.

A survey will start before the Puja and the flyovers are likely to be ready by 2010.

The South City authorities will chip in with Rs 12 crore. “We had engaged traffic flow consultant Wilbur Smith for inputs and he had suggested six options, from which the CMDA has chosen the flyover route,” said Sushil Mohta, the director of South City Projects.

Deb’s meeting focussed on the need to remove the traffic bottlenecks in the “deep south” belt — comprising Golf Green, Jadavpur, Baishnabghata and Patuli — and improve its connectivity with “in-city” areas, such as Gariahat, Esplanade and Park Circus. This will also result in easing the load on EM Bypass.

“If the Lords crossing and the stretch between Jadavpur and Dhakuria can be made snarl-free, north-bound vehicles from Golf Green will not have to make a detour via the Bypass,” Deb said.

The civic body proposed that Raja SC Mullick Road beyond the Baishnabghata crossing be widened. It was clarified at the meeting that the public works department, which owns the road, will allow the civic body to take up the work.

“The pocket witnessed large-scale urbanisation over the past three decades, resulting in a 10-fold rise in the vehicle count. But traffic infrastructure has remained static over the past 25 years,” pointed out civic commissioner Alapan Bandyopadhyay, who attended Deb’s meeting, along with CMDA chief executive officer P.R. Baviskar.

The South 24-Parganas police have long been pointing out that the Lords crossing and the stretch between Dhakuria and Jadavpur are two major traffic trouble spots in the area.

A prod from the chief secretary to address the problem prompted both the CMC and the CMDA to take up the project.

^^ large view of the map

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff132/SarafIndian/sthcty2.jpg

There are more awesome renderings posted by Jai here --> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=18446226&postcount=606

Looks great:cheers: Thanks IU.

The Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080408/jsp/calcutta/story_9080071.jsp)

Laldighi car park on track

The grounds opposite Writers’ Buildings, where once stood the government car park, statues of heroes of the Indian freedom movement and that of BC Roy, with tram lines laid out behind them, have been levelled.

The earth has been gouged out on the side of St Andrew’s Church, as the first step towards building the two-tier underground parking plaza that will extend practically up to Laldighi, the famous water tank at the epicentre of BBD Bag (Dalhousie Square).

The foundation was laid on June 4, 2007, but the actual work began later. The tram lines have been shifted behind Telephone Bhavan. Forty-four trees were felled but arrangements have been made with the forest department for planting 500 trees.

The project, greenlighted by the heritage commission, is targeted to be complete in two years and is being built at a cost of Rs 37 crore. Manisha Rakshit, the chief government architect, says the car park will be 212 metres long, 45 metres wide and 6.5 metres deep, and is designed to accommodate 300 cars on each floor.

Now, a maximum of 400 to 430 cars are parked in that area. Eighty cm of this structure will extend above ground level, but that is not going to be the eyesore many fear it could be. Rakshit said a rooftop garden will be created and greenery will camouflage the structure. The three entrances and three exits will, however, be visible.

Efforts have been made to create a design that will not depend on power supply. None of the six ramps, with the exception of a sick car lift, is mechanised. An air-handling unit will be installed to purify the air. The car park will also be fitted with a state-of-the-art fire-fighting system. An electrical sub-station will be built there.

PWD minister Kshiti Goswami is supervising the implementation of the project.

It will require 365 bore piles and it will be surrounded with “z sheet piles” for the retaining wall to hold back the water in the tank.

The foundation is way below the tank water level, and the bottom slab is expected to be concretised on April 10

The HUB (PS Srijan Tech Park)
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7748/07042008456hb9.jpg

Render
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/8919/28greenbignr9.jpg

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/8085/p4100001cm9.jpg

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/2608/p4100002ec5.jpg

Infospace

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1708/p4100003ly7.jpg

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7216/p4100008re4.jpg

Second DLF IT Park

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/1201/p4100004gz0.jpg

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/2946/p4100005pu2.jpg

Uniworld City

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/5656/p4100007rt6.jpg

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/1730/p4100009ya9.jpg

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/9620/p4100013yi1.jpg

SP Infocity

An IT park over 50 acres. The boundary is about 1 km long!

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/3263/p4100011zt1.jpg

Great stuff arijeetb!

Source (http://www.domain-b.com/aero/airports/20080410_airports_upgrade.html)

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India has said that the upgrade programme of the Kolkata and Chennai airports will cost Rs3,800 crore, and would be complete by 2010-11.

"AAI would spend Rs2,000 crore to modernise the Kolkata airport and Rs1,800 crore for the Chennai airport. The modernisation process has to be completed by 2010-11," AAI chairman, K Ramalingam, said Thursday. He was speaking at the inauguration of 'Aerodrome India 2008.'

According to Ramalingam, an in-principle approval for the modernisation of the two airports has been received by the AAI, which would be the sole agency to execute the plan.

Ramalingam said the Kolkata airport would receive a new runway, which would be constructed along the existing one. An additional runway would also be built at Chennai, even as the existing cross runway is operationalised.

A new runway would also be commissioned at the Delhi airport by September this year. "A third runway would be commissioned by September along the two existing ones at the Delhi airport," he said.

Ramalingam said there was a need to build aviation infrastructure at faster rate in order to manage traffic. Building capacity at various airports were a part of that process.

He also said that efforts were being made to enhance non-traffic revenue which would help upgrade airport infrastructure.

arijeetb.....................great update. wow. this is indeed a construction boom calcutta is going through.

that uniworld city is one huge construction! I could see 6 cranes in a single picture. Thats massive! Never seen so much construction activity before!

Statesman (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=198979)

KOLKATA, April 10: Speaking at the Kolkata Metro celebrations of the 53rd Railway Week, Mr UCD Shreni, general manager, Kolkata Metro, described the past year as the best year for Kolkata Metro and expressed his wish to “play the volume game” and double earnings without increasing ticket rates. Mr Shreni, thus, signaled the imminent emphasis, not only of Indian Railways but also that of Kolkata Metro: doubling volume.
Last year the Kolkata Metro ferried 12.07 crore commuters, as compared to 11.50 crore in 2006. On a weekday, the Metro averages over four lakh commuters, a figure that will rise to over five lakh in September, once the Naktala-Tollygunge extension begins operating. The number of daily commuters will increase further in 2009, when the extension proposes to touch Garia. Therefore, within the next year there will be a large influx of new commuters.
To manage this increased volume of commuters, Kolkata Metro plans to add 13 new rakes to the existing stock of trains. However, upon being asked whether the new rakes will be added by the end of the year to cater to the increased Tollygunge-Garia traffic, Mr Shreni indicated that it would take more time, certainly more than one year.
Increase in the number of Metro commuters in 2007 has resulted in a 25 per cent increase in income from ticket sales for Kolkata Metro. And, although Metro sundry and commercial earnings have also seen a proportionate increase, a fact that has brought Mr Shreni responsibility over sundry and commercial sectors of Eastern and South Eastern Railways, it is income from an increased volume of commuters that has improved Metro's loss-incurring operating ratio from 221 in 2006 to 196 in 2007.
And, since Kolkata Metro takes pride in being the “cheapest Metro service in the world”, it is an unprecedented increase in fellow commuters ~ not any increase in ticket prices ~ that Kolkata Metro users will have to contend with over the next few years.

by DP architects

Phoenix Software's Technopolis 2
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6906/01sh5.jpg

Great Find, Jai :)

Jai

nice find. BTW. these architects including HC is overdoing this green tree & environmentally efficient stuff. look at all those trees & grass on each floor. :ohno:

like they'll really have that instead of offices, computers, conference halls. nice gimmick for selling the project. :ohno:

by DP architects

Phoenix Software's Technopolis 2
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6906/01sh5.jpg

Jai

nice find. BTW. these architects including HC is overdoing this green tree & environmentally efficient stuff. look at all those trees & grass on each floor. :ohno:

like they'll really have that instead of offices, computers, conference halls. nice gimmick for selling the project. :ohno:

The render is perhaps trying to stress the fact that it will be a LEED certified Green building:). The project is slated to deliver 2M sqft of office space.

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/4374/kolkatavh5.jpg

WHOA! LOVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE IT. Skeletal pockets of punctured facade - LOVE IT!

How many of these upcoming projects have been already completed or topped out? Whats are the target dates of others to be completed?


The render is perhaps trying to stress the fact that it will be a LEED certified Green building:). The project is slated to deliver 2M sqft of office space.

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/4374/kolkatavh5.jpg

How many of these upcoming projects have been already completed or topped out? Whats are the target dates of others to be completed?

Over 20M sqft are slated for completion by 2010.

:nuts: I don't know whether these grass and trees on the building will be in reality or not but I have seen trees and creepers on the whole 35th floor of the 50-floor commerz bank building in Frankfurt(Germany).^^


Jai

nice find. BTW. these architects including HC is overdoing this green tree & environmentally efficient stuff. look at all those trees & grass on each floor. :ohno:

like they'll really have that instead of offices, computers, conference halls. nice gimmick for selling the project. :ohno:

Source: Express Hospitality (http://www.expresshospitality.com/20080415/market13.shtml)


KMC to lease land for hotel projects

Joy Roy Choudhury - Kolkata

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has decided to foray into the hospitality arena through public-private-partnership (PPP) and has issued a notice inviting proposals from Indian firms or joint venture/consortium for setting up a luxury hotel on a plot of land owned by it on the eastern fringes of the city.

KMC proposes to lease out 3.358 acres off Eastern Metropolitan Bypass for 99 years with renewal clauses for setting up a deluxe hotel. The site is strategically located and well connected to the CBD of the city and is 20-minutes drive from the international airport.

Earlier, the DLF-Hilton combine and Emaar MGF had acquired two different plots of land for their respective hotel projects. KMC has in the past entered into PPP arrangements for setting up market complexes, housing complexes, etc. It has also been involved in providing a range of services to the city including the supply of drinking water, sewerage and drainage, solid waste management, roads maintenance, street lighting and slum development works.

A successful bidder, whose net worth as per audited financial statements for 2006-07 is not less than Rs 250 million, will be picked up through a process of sealed bid. A senior KMC official on conditions of anonymity said, "We have already received proposals from several corporate houses." But he declined to divulge any names. It may be noted that Kolkata has been experiencing a steep rise in demand for high-end hotel rooms following the growth of the IT/ITeS sector and the revival of industrial environment in the state.

hotels galore kolkata
Source: Business Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/search/storypage_new.php?leftnm=1&leftindx=1&subLeft=1&autono=320235)


Salarpuria plans Rajarhat hotel

BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Amtala April 16, 2008
Kolkata-based real estate developer Salarpuria Group, will execute projects worth Rs 1,000 crore in West Bengal by 2010.

The expansion plans includes setting up a Novotel Hotel, promoted by international hospitality major, Accor Group, at Rajarhat, said Rakesh Salarpurai, vice chairman of the Salarpuria Group, on the sidelines of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a food park at Amtala in the South 24-Parganas district of the state. The investment in the project would be close to Rs 200 crore.

Other major investments of the company includes two IT special economic zones (SEZs) at Bantala 20km south-east of Kolkata, and Kalyani in Nadia district, 40km north-west of Kolkata.

The company has already received in-principle nod for the SEZ projects from the Central government, Salarpuria said. The SEZ in Kalyani would be spread over 250 acre.

Salarpuria did not mention the investment required to execute the project, as it is yet to acquire land for it. The investment at the Bantala SEZ, to be spread over 40 acre, will be close to Rs 400 crore.

Work would being in six months, he claimed.

Source: Express Hospitality (http://www.expresshospitality.com/20080415/market13.shtml)

^^I am guessing this could be a vacant plot lying next to DLF-Hilton venture waiting to be grabbed. If so, then in a couple of years we have 4 of the best hotels in Kolkata situated one after the other:)

hotels galore kolkata
Source: Business Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/search/storypage_new.php?leftnm=1&leftindx=1&subLeft=1&autono=320235)

Hope Novotel is somewhere near the upcoming convention center ( as in the case of Hyderabad). This looks to be the second hotel project announcement for Rajarhat after Westin.

Hope Novotel is somewhere near the upcoming convention center ( as in the case of Hyderabad). This looks to be the second hotel project announcement for Rajarhat after Westin.

Yes thats a possibility but was not there a plan of 5 star & 4 star hotels in the Unitech Kolkata International Convention Center with JW Marriott already at the time of the project's announcement?

You say that Novotel is the 2nd hotel in rajarhat after Westin. Then what about the Shrishti-Intercontinental venture? Also on the anvil is a Courtyard by Marriott at Rajarhat as a part of Unitech's Uniworld City.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Infy-state deal likely by June
Sumali Moitra | TNN

Kolkata: Infosys is likely to sign a MoU with the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government for its much-awaited city facility by June.
“The probability of it (deal) being signed this quarter is high,” Infosys director T V Mohandas Pai told TOI on Tuesday. “They (the Bengal government) have been very active in the last quarter. Ideally, we would like it to be a tripartite agreement between the government, developer and Infosys,” he added.
Pai said the company had been assured of being provided 100 acres (its demand from the start) at a price which was reasonable. “The government has understood that we cannot pay the same price as a real estate company. Moreover, they have realised that actual users like us create employment,” he added.
The Infosys board member said the company would seek SEZ recognition for the proposed Kolkata centre, as and when it starts operations. “Our stated intention to employ 5,000 people for the Kolkata centre, over a period of time, remains on track.”
However, Pai said the company does not have any plan to start its city operations from rented premises till its campus is built. The company had said in the past that it intends to pump in Rs 250 crore in the city.
Sources said the government, which proposes to hand over land to Infosys at Vedic Village in Rajarhat, may prefer to go in for two separate agreements — one with the developer and the other with Infosys. State IT minister Debesh Das, though, could not be reached for comment. “Average variable payout for the fourth quarter of 2007-08 is 100%,” Pai said.
Infosys has been in talks with the state government for a Kolkata facility for more than two years. Both the chief minister and industries minister are very keen to bring the firm here.

Source: ToI ePaper: Kolkata. 16-April-2008

Yes thats a possibility but was not there a plan of 5 star & 4 star hotels in the Unitech Kolkata International Convention Center with JW Marriott already at the time of the project's announcement?

You say that Novotel is the 2nd hotel in rajarhat after Westin. Then what about the Shrishti-Intercontinental venture? Also on the anvil is a Courtyard by Marriott at Rajarhat as a part of Unitech's Uniworld City.

Correct me if I am wrong.

I think that the Shristi -Intercontinental venture is now the Westin.

Yes thats a possibility but was not there a plan of 5 star & 4 star hotels in the Unitech Kolkata International Convention Center with JW Marriott already at the time of the project's announcement?

Since the area is ~100 acres, there are plans for hotels but details have not unfolded as yet. The construction is on for the convention center as of now

Infy-state deal likely by June
Sumali Moitra | TNN

Kolkata: Infosys is likely to sign a MoU with the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government for its much-awaited city facility by June.
“The probability of it (deal) being signed this quarter is high,” Infosys director T V Mohandas Pai told TOI on Tuesday. “They (the Bengal government) have been very active in the last quarter. Ideally, we would like it to be a tripartite agreement between the government, developer and Infosys,” he added.
Pai said the company had been assured of being provided 100 acres (its demand from the start) at a price which was reasonable. “The government has understood that we cannot pay the same price as a real estate company. Moreover, they have realised that actual users like us create employment,” he added.
The Infosys board member said the company would seek SEZ recognition for the proposed Kolkata centre, as and when it starts operations. “Our stated intention to employ 5,000 people for the Kolkata centre, over a period of time, remains on track.”
However, Pai said the company does not have any plan to start its city operations from rented premises till its campus is built. The company had said in the past that it intends to pump in Rs 250 crore in the city.
Sources said the government, which proposes to hand over land to Infosys at Vedic Village in Rajarhat, may prefer to go in for two separate agreements — one with the developer and the other with Infosys. State IT minister Debesh Das, though, could not be reached for comment. “Average variable payout for the fourth quarter of 2007-08 is 100%,” Pai said.
Infosys has been in talks with the state government for a Kolkata facility for more than two years. Both the chief minister and industries minister are very keen to bring the firm here.

Source: ToI ePaper: Kolkata. 16-April-2008

Good that things are looking positive now, but 5000 seems too small a commitment for 100 acres unless they are aiming at a walk to work concept by providing residential options. As per an earlier report 150 acres would be given to IT companies of which Wipro may get 25 and ITC the rest. Land might just start becoming a burning issue again.

Calcutta Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080422/jsp/calcutta/story_8992881.jsp)

Culture hub with tall claims
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080422/images/22rawdon.jpg
An artist’s impression of Kolkata Kala Kendra

The city is set to have its first cultural complex of international standards a little more than a year from now.

Officials involved with the Rs 16-crore project said the basic structure will take a year to be built and a few more months will be needed to decorate the interiors before the curtain goes up on Kolkata Kala Kendra at 19A Sarojini Naidu Sarani (Rawdon Street).

“We will finally have a place good enough to host performances by the likes of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Zubin Mehta,” said Dilip Kumar Chakraborty, the principal secretary in the information and cultural affairs department.

“I am not sure how many local groups can afford to hire the facilities.... Our prime target are foreign troupes and we are trying to build the Kendra in a way that will draw them here,” he added.

The project across 10 bighas will include a main auditorium that will seat 1,200 people, a hydraulic stage with a 60-ft opening, computerised light and sound equipment and rehearsal rooms.

There will also be a smaller, multipurpose auditorium that can seat 500 people, a multimedia projection room for 200 people and a lobby that can host non-proscenium performances, a restaurant, a seminar hall, exhibition space and a library, among other facilities.

“There will be ample parking space and we are also planning to introduce rainwater harvesting facilities,” said Amrit Mukhopadhyay, the deputy general manager of Balmer Lawrie that is fabricating the project under PWD’s supervision.

The design has been conceived by architect Kalyan Biswas and engineers are in touch with experts from Jadavpur University and Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur, for inputs.

“A pond in the compound will provide a reflective surface for the hall. The proposed structure will only take up 20 per cent of the area,” said Biswas, who has designed over 40 auditoriums and projects like the TCS building in Sector V.

The inspiration, he said, had come from the Natmandirs. “The roofs of Natmandirs are flat but they have these pillars which elsewhere come as arches. I have used the pattern. The surface will be embellished with terracotta tiles that would give glimpses of Bengal’s cultural history.”

The project is being steered by the Kolkata Kala Kendra Society, which includes the chief minister, mayor and representatives of the cultural world.

The project started as a commercial complex and the initial plans (by another architect) involved filling up of a pond. “The idea was scrapped in favour of a cultural complex that would leave the pond undisturbed,” said architect Biswas.

The state pollution control board, reluctant to approve the project as a wetland was involved, gave a no-objection certificate in April 2004.

The final municipal clearance came on October 25, 2007, said an official.

http://www.expresstravelworld.com/200804/market35.shtml

South City-Merlin Consortium inks agreement with KMDA for 'Logistics Hub'

Kolkata-based consortium of South City Projects and Merlin Group has inked a development agreement with Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority to set up an IT Logistics Centre at the Salt Lake Electronics Complex, the IT hub of the city.

To be set up on the lines of Delhi's India Habitat Centre, the proposed IT Logistics Hub will include hotels offering short staying facilities for IT professionals and working women, food courts, recreation plazas, retail outlets and banqueting facilities for hosting conferences, business meets and conventions. It will also provide plug-in secretarial facilities for IT/ITeS professionals and other logistics support for their business requirements.

The Consortium is reported to have paid a whopping Rs 143 crore to KMDA to acquire the 4.3 acre plot at Salt Lake's Sector -V.

Confirming the development, Pradeep Sureka, director of South City Projects said, "The South City-Merlin Group combine has won the technical bid to develop the project." Earlier, KMDA had invited bids from real estate developers for development of an IT logistics centre at Salt Lake, a first-of-its-kind project in the state. The project is touted to be one of the biggest public-private-partnership (PPP) projects of the state. KMDA, the development authority under the State's Department of Urban Development has been developing vital infrastructure projects for the Kolkata Metropolitan Area under the PPP model.

Industry watchers however opined that this is one of the biggest land deals in the city. Earlier, DLF and Emaar MGF had acquired two different plots of land for their respective hotel projects in the city in record land deals. A senior KMDA official remarked, "We have received bids from six other leading real estate developers including DLF."

As per the terms of the agreement, a 50:50 joint venture will be floated between KMDA and the South City Projects-Merlin Group combine for implementation of the project. The proposed investment on the project is likely to be between Rs 250-300 crore. The project is likely to be completed by 2010. Once the joint venture is formed a board will be constituted with representation from both, the KMDA and the Consortium.

The official said that the Consortium was selected through a transparent bidding process and after proper evaluation the combine will have the ability to set up an infrastructure project of this magnitude.

Statesman News Service (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=200919)

New B-school soon in Kolkata

KOLKATA, April 23: A new business school in Kolkata is on the cards. The school will be fully residential, co-educational and autonomous management institute with the campus sprawled across 15 acres of land in Diamond harbour. The name of the school would be 'Calcutta Business School'. With an initial investment of Rs 70 crore by the Birla Group of Companies', the school is an extension of their corporate social responsibility programme.
“In terms of infrastructure, faculty, placement, tec-hnology and management it will be an international standard management sch-ool. The full time faculty, part-time faculty and visiting faculty has already been selected from leading international business schools and also from Indian Inst-itute of Management. We are committed to provide quality education to our students in terms of infrastructure and technology,” Mr Sudarshan Kumar Birla, chairman of S K Birla Group of Companies, said, in the city today.
The school would provide two year post graduate dip-loma in management. Admissions would be based on a common admission test and Graduate Manag-ement Aptitude Test for non-residential Indian students, followed by group di-scussion and interview. The course fee will be Rs 7 lakh including hostel charges.
Dr Subir Chowdhury, ad-viser of Calcutta Business School and former director of Indian Institute of Management (Calcutta) po-inted out that as it is an autonomous institute so there will be no special provision for SC, ST and OBC candidates in the admission procedure and admission will be strictly on the basis of merit.
“In the first year we can accommodate 60 students. Classes will be based on current case studies and practical. Our fees structure would be reasonable as co-mpared to IIM Calcutta and IIM Bangalore. We hope that after a couple of years it will be one of the top management institutes in the country” added Mr Chowdhury.

India's Infosys to spend $125 mln on new centre

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSBOM4877220080424

Infosys Technologies Ltd (INFY.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) (INFY.O: Quote, Profile, Research), India's No. 2 software services exporter, said on Thursday it would invest 5 billion rupees ($125 million) in a new development centre in the eastern city of Kolkata.

The centre will create more than 5,000 jobs over a period of time, it said in a statement.

Infosys plans campus in Kolkata

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=36205

Infosys Technologies plans to set up a new development centre in Kolkata at an investment of Rs 500 crore. The venture will create more than 5,000 jobs over a period of time.

Commenting on these plans, Debesh Das, minister-in-charge, Department of IT, Government of West Bengal said, "Kolkata has become the new hotspot for IT in the East with its rich cultural and educational heritage. Going forward, we expect to see more of such investments coming into the state and more jobs being generated. We are very happy to have Infosys here in Kolkata."

"We are very excited to announce our intention to set up a presence in Kolkata. We are impressed with the efforts of the state government in attracting such investments. With its bright talent pool, West Bengal is poised to become an important IT destination," S Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys Technologies said.

Times of India 24.04.2008


KMC gets record price for plot off EM Bypass
24 Apr 2008, 0612 hrs IST , Saikat Ray & Udit Prasanna Mukherji , TNN

KOLKATA: KMC has fetched a record Rs 135 crore for a 3.35-acre plot off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.

Apeejay Group outbid 19 other competitors to win the prized plot meant to set up a five star hotel.

Last year, Kolkata Municipal Corporation had mopped up Rs 156 crore from realty major DLF for a five-acre land off the Bypass to construct a hotel.

The Apeejay deal, at Rs 70 lakh per cottah, marks a 27% rise in hotel land price since last year, when the DLF land went for Rs 55 lakh per cottah.

Others in the running for the KMC plot were known names in the hotel industry like the ITC group, Leela group, Orchid, Raheja group and Forum Projects (belonging to mall and IT park developer Rahul Saraf).

According to initial plans, a four star hotel was supposed to come up on the plot, but the Apeejay group has decided to build a five star deluxe hotel instead. KMC had invited request for proposals (RfPs) for the plot in March.

When contacted, chairman of Apeejay Surendra Park Hotels Karan Paul confirmed the development. "Yes, we are the highest bidder for the plot," he said.

According to him, the group will invest Rs 450 crore to develop the hotel. "We are investing Rs 135 crore for the land, and another Rs 315 crore will be spent on the construction of the hotel. The funding will be done through a mix of internal accruals and debt. This will be one of the best five star deluxe property in the city," he said.

The proposed hotel, he said, will have 300 rooms. The group will use its existing brand - 'The Park' - for the new property. "The Park is a strong brand in this part of the country. So, we have decided to use that," he said.

real good news .... presence of infosys was badly needed to boost up the image of kolkata

India's Infosys to spend $125 mln on new centre

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSBOM4877220080424



Infosys plans campus in Kolkata

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=36205

Beemer rolls into town
- Entire fleet to be available off Bypass

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080424/images/24car.jpg
The BMW dealership. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

BMW India on Wednesday launched its first dealership in Calcutta, two years after the company’s India debut. The entire fleet of the Beemer’s 3, 5, 6, 7, X and M series will be available at OSL Prestige, in Spring Arcade on EM Bypass.

The 4,300-sq-ft showroom showcases five cars, including the new M3 Coupe that was launched in India at the 8th Auto Expo in January and comes for Rs 74,20,000 (ex-showroom, Calcutta). The other models on display include the BMW 740Li, the 650i Convertible and the 525i.

BMW India president Peter Kronschnabl said on the occasion: “We have had the most successful market entry in India. We sold 1,387 cars in 2007 and plan to do 2,000 units this year.” He expects the Calcutta outlet to sell 60 to 100 units in its first year.

Rival Mercedes Benz, which has been in India since 1996, delivered its 20,000th car this month. In Calcutta, the sole Mercedes dealership Interkrafts, operating since 2002, sold 72 units in 2007. Commenting on competition, Interkrafts CEO Hiteswar Singh said: “Competition will only expand the market.”

BMW is not entirely new to Calcutta. “It already has a fleet of about 100 cars sold from our Delhi and Hyderabad outlets. Our existing customers here will now be able to use the service facilities of OSL Prestige,” said Ralf Karsten Bissinger, the sales and marketing director of BMW India.

The dealership has a 16,000-sq-ft, six-bay workshop at Sarkarpool, said dealer Charchit Mishra. The company intends to bring its global 4S dealership (sales, service, spares and systems under one roof) to Calcutta soon, said a spokesperson.

“We have two 4S dealerships in Delhi and Chennai. They offer world-class service with premium customer lounges,” he added.

real good news .... presence of infosys was badly needed to boost up the image of kolkata

^^Absolutely. CPM chieftains are gung-ho with the closure of this deal. With Wipro also getting 90 acres on a adjacent land, there is gonna be healthy competion between the biggies in the future.:)

From the govt's side, they need to start building basic infrastructure in the region since Infosys/Wipro will not waste any time in bringing up the campuses.

Now government should concentrate on bringing some high profile MNCs (like Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Intel) to further boost up the image

^^Absolutely. CPM chieftains are gung-ho with the closure of this deal. With Wipro also getting 90 acres on a adjacent land, there is gonna be healthy competion between the biggies in the future.:)

From the govt's side, they need to start building basic infrastructure in the region since Infosys/Wipro will not waste any time in bringing up the campuses.

Now government should concentrate on bringing some high profile MNCs (like Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Intel) to further boost up the image

^^ A concern raised by Kris from Infy is the lack of availability of talent pool here. He has a point since huge chunks of experienced people would have migrated from West Bengal and WB also does not churn out as many graduates as the southern states. It is the talent pool that would be a problem for MNCs since they are much more choosy when it comes to selecting the right guy for the job. Now with land issues more or less resolved, let the govt concentrate on building the numbers in the next 2-3 years. MNCs would naturally follow

Personally, I don’t care about infosys or whatever. I only bother about employment. If a company like DLF/Unitech etc can generate more employment with the same size of land, I will go for that. I don’t want golf course or swimming pull inside a IT campus in Bengal. Bengal simply can’t bear that luxury. Land is scarce here.

Infy to recruit 20K in Kolkata
25 Apr 2008, 0232 hrs IST,Sumali Moitra,TNN

KOLKATA: Infosys' headcount target of 5,000 at Kolkata is just for starters. The IT major intends to have more than 20,000 employees in the city over a period of time.

"Our Bangalore campus, which at 80 acres occupies slightly less area than the proposed Kolkata facility, presently has 22,000-23,000 employees. There's no reason why we can't get to that figure in Kolkata also," Infosys CEO & MD S Gopalakrishnan told TOI on Thursday. "In Kolkata's case, achieving the 20,000-employee mark may actually take us much less time than what it took us to get to this number in Bangalore."

Infosys bridged the 20,000-mark in Bangalore 13 years after setting up its campus. Its proposed Kolkata campus, which would come up on 90 acres, would house both its software development and BPO operations.

The company also promised to invest Rs 500 crore to set up its maiden facility in West Bengal, which would initially employ 5,000 people.

"Finally, we are here," Infosys CEO & MD S Gopalakrishnan said after a meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and state IT Debesh Das on Thursday. "At last, it has been done," a beaming Das added.

The proposed Infosys campus - whose first phase would be operational by end-2009 - would come up on 90 acres at Rajarhat.

I do fully agree with you on this count. West Bengal simply can not afford that luxury. We have to see what can provide us maximum number of empoyment in the state. That's why I do not like those single storey bungallows here. I had put a similar render in Dhaka thread also:cheers:

Personally, I don’t care about infosys or whatever. I only bother about employment. If a company like DLF/Unitech etc can generate more employment with the same size of land, I will go for that. I don’t want golf course or swimming pull inside a IT campus in Bengal. Bengal simply can’t bear that luxury. Land is scarce here.

http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/04/26124753/Apollo-Hospitals-to-start-medi.html

Apollo Hospitals to start medical college in West Bengal

Apollo Hospitals Managing Director Preetha Reddy said: "We discussed the plan for the medical college at a meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya on Friday evening. He has promised to extend all possible help, including arranging for a 25-acre plot if we fail to arrange for it ourselves."

The hospital authorities are eyeing the outskirts of Kolkata to set up the medical college.

"This Rs 700-million project will be operational by 2011," Reddy added.

There will be a 350-bed hospital on the campus of the medical college.

"We are also planning to set up 100-bed hospitals in West Bengal towns. We will start with Siliguri, Burdwan and Kharagpur towns," said Reddy.

Shristi Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (SIDCL) is set to build a 50-storeyed hotel complex in Rajarhat in Kolkata.

"It would be a 150 metre building built on eight acres at Rajarhat and can be the tallest building of the country," said Sujit Kanoria, chairman and managing director of SIDCL.

The total project cost is pegged at Rs 800 crore and the company has tied up with a leading international hotel brand.

However the CMD refused to divulge the name of the hotel brand, saying, "We are in the final stages of negotiation, and it would not be right to reveal the name now." The facility would have 500 rooms, and it would be operational in three years.

The Kolkata-based company is currently engaged in projects with total investment upto Rs 5000 crore across the country, out of which 85 percent were in west Bengal.

They included two logistic terminals in the Indo-Bangladesh border at Bongaon, North 24-Parganas, and Raniganj, a sports city in Haldia and a mixed used development at Rajarhat, NRI premium villas at Shantiniketan and a green township at Asansol. All these projects are under various joint venture partnerships. Meanwhile the company is eying a foray into the hospitality sector.

Accordingly the company has forged a 50:50 joint venture with Domina Hotels. The new entity would be known as Domina Hotels Pvt Ltd. "We launched a new brand-- Vedic Hotels and Resorts for our hotel business venture," Kanoria added. The first hotel under the new brand would come up at Udaipur.

"We are looking to set up 30-40 hotels across India in the next 5 years and subsequently we might go international," he said.


Source (http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=BO&autono=321305)

^^ "It would be a 150 metre building built on eight acres at Rajarhat and can be the tallest building of the country," said Sujit Kanoria, chairman and managing director of SIDCL.


What building they are talking about. Is it new one?

"It would be a 150 metre building built on eight acres at Rajarhat and can be the tallest building of the country," said Sujit Kanoria, chairman and managing director of SIDCL.
^^What BS:bash: I do hope people think before making such statements in the media. He could have stated specific to hotels in this context.

I did see the billboard of the proposed complex more than 1.5 yrs back, but have not seen it recently. My best guess is it could be Westin, but that again is twin towers.

Personally, I don’t care about infosys or whatever. I only bother about employment. If a company like DLF/Unitech etc can generate more employment with the same size of land, I will go for that. I don’t want golf course or swimming pull inside a IT campus in Bengal. Bengal simply can’t bear that luxury. Land is scarce here.

Do you know of any IT campuses that has a golf course or a pool ? Large Tech parks for example Golf links business park in Bangalore has a golf course catering to many MNC campuses and more specifically for hundreds of their western counterparts who travel to India for business.

Having a land constraint is one thing but my personal opinion is that they are not luxuries and should be present in the right place in the right measures:)

The Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080428/jsp/calcutta/story_9196808.jsp)

Soon, files won’t be gathering dust at Writers’ Buildings, they’ll just go cold.

The hot seat of Bengal’s rulers at Dalhousie is aiming to turn cool in about 18 months when a central air-conditioning system costing Rs 10 crore is expected to be installed.

What the hell they are talking. :wallbash: Is not it about the wipro junction and ultadanga and flyovers? And has not they started construction already? That’s what I heard. Can someone give any info what is going on there?

Statesman (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=201672)

New flyover in Sector V by August

KOLKATA, April 28: For fast and smooth movement of airport bound traffic via Salt Lake and Rajarhat, the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will set up a flyover at Sector V.
The tender and works committees of KMDA have cleared the proposal and the construction will begin soon. The estimated cost of the proposed flyover would be Rs 34.21 crore. The construction of the proposed flyover will be completed by August, 2009.
The state IT minister, Mr Debesh Das, had requested state urban development minister Mr Asok Bhattacharya, to take steps to ensure faster traffic movement in Sector V and Rajarhat. The heads of various IT establishments had also made similar requests to Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Mr Asok Bhattacharya following which a survey was conducted by KMDA.
It may be recalled that for faster movement of airport bound traffic from south, another flyover from Dattabad to Ultadanga along Eastern Metropolitan bypass is coming up with financial assistance of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Steps have already been taken to widen EM bypass and make it a six and eight lane thoroughfare to add to the speed of vehicles.
Traffic jam near JK Saha culvert has become a regular feature. Long queues of vehicles after the Nicco Park intersection is a regular sight and a report prepared by KMDA engineers had proposed that the everyday problem of congestion could be sorted out only by constructing a flyover. KMDA authorities had cleared the proposal and now it is being cleared by the works and tender committees of the agency.
Detailed project report along with structural drawing and design of the proposed flyover has been prepared by the Bengal CES Infotech private limited. The construction of four lane flyover will begin soon. The survey work has already been completed and the preliminary work is likely to start next month.

Ericsson enters Sector V

TOI epaper

On Monday, the Telecom giant Ericsson inaugurated a software development centre at Salt Lake’s Sector V.

“Ericsson’s facility at Globsyn Crystals will initially seat 200 employees, which will later be scaled up to 400,” Sweden’s honorary consul in Kolkata Aloke Mookherjea told TOI.

Globsyn Crystals co-developer Pradeep Sureka said Ericsson has taken up 35,000 sq ft in the building.

“The good thing is that it will be used for writing core software and not function as a marketing office. We expect more companies like Ericsson to establish a presence here to take advantage of the state’s talent pool,” state IT minister Debesh Das said.

“Another Swedish firm IFS Solutions is thinking of setting up a presence in Kolkata,” Mookherjea said. Founded in 1983, IFS pioneered component-based enterprise resources planning software with IFS Applications.

On Monday, representatives of about a dozen Swedish companies, including ABB, Ericsson, Ikea and Volvo, met chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Ericsson enters Sector V

TOI epaper

Very good news.

:banana:

What the hell they are talking. :wallbash: Is not it about the wipro junction and ultadanga and flyovers? And has not they started construction already? That’s what I heard. Can someone give any info what is going on there?

Statesman (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=23&theme=&usrsess=1&id=201672)

^^Work is going on at the Sector V flyover. For the past one month, a section of the South bound traffic from Rajarhat to Saltlake has been diverted to the service lane to facilitate work on the flyover. They may start erecting the pillars anytime soon.

The flyover at Ultadanga is also under construction, though not sure about the pace of the work

PWDs’ two-phase project to handle traffic (http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/PWDs-twophase-project-to-handle-traffic/302532/)

The much-awaited Dunlop interchange project, the key to easy dispersal of traffic at the Dunlop crossing, is already underway.
The state Public Works Department has proposed to build a two lane right-turning flyover, originating from the PWD road (that leads to Dakshineswar) and terminating near the Indian Statistical Institute campus on BT Road.

The need for a Dunlop interchange was felt during the construction of the Nivedita Bridge.

A stretch of the PWD road leads to the new Nivedita Bridge from the Dunlop crossing

Town planners felt that the Nivedita Bridge, the first of its kind in the country, would in future be a major corridor for the traffic from across the Hooghly. And hence, to reduce congestion at the Dunlop crossing, as a bulk of traffic from Nivedita Bridge converges here, a dispersal system was necessary.

According to PWD officials, the BT Road was already saturated beyond capacity for more than one reason.

First, there is a mixed mode of traffic — slow moving, fast moving as well as movement of heavy vehicles. The width of the BT Road is inadequate and is congested by the bus stops and heavy pedestrian movement.

The first phase involves widening of the BT Road and then the construction of the flyover.

The project cost has been estimated at Rs 30 crore. “This part of the project will take around 18 months to complete if work progresses as per schedule,” said a senior PWD engineer.

In the second phase, a ramp will be constructed down from the Belgharia Expressway to BT Road on the Sodepur side. The second phase envisages a cost of Rs 17 crore.

But insiders of the PWD department point out that the project could have been avoided and a Herculean amount of public money could have been saved had the authorities taken a proactive role in removing the encroachments on both sides of the BT Road and the PWD road.

In fact, even the PWD office is an encroachment and had to be demolished in order to construct the new stretch leading to the Nivedita Bridge.

“Buses and trucks are parked along the stretch and illegal garages have been operating since decades. If the encroachments were removed, the BT Road traffic could have been handled,” said an official.

Ericsson enters Sector V

TOI epaper
Great News !!! After a long wait, finally telecom giants are finding their way to Bengal.

Metro cash & Carry u/c

photo copyright Ravindra

1
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1553/metrocashcarry2ravindracz4.jpg

2
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/8343/metrocashandcarryravindsk8.jpg

:banana: It gives a good feeling to see Metro surfacing in Kolkata. I fondly recollect about Metro having visited the store so many times during my stay in Frankfrut. Three cheers for Metro:cheers:

Great News !!! After a long wait, finally telecom giants are finding their way to Bengal.

Indian giants like airtel, tata has a good presence in Bengal. They also have plan to invest more.

Statesman (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=201856)

Airtel to invest Rs 600 cr in WB

KOLKATA, April 29: Airtel is looking to invest over Rs 600 crore in West Bengal to increase its network coverage. The company presently has a 90 per cent coverage of towns, villages, roads and rail routes with 4,000 cell sites. A further 2,000 cell sites is going to be added this year.
Speaking at a Press meet, Mr Ajai Puri, CEO- Kolkata and West Bengal, said that the company had doubled its customer base in West Bengal from 1.8 million in March 2007 to 3.71 million in March 2008.
Meanwhile, the company has acquired four acres of land in Rajarhat to set up its eastern complex. The five lakh square feet campus which would house its direct employees as well as employees of its strategic partners such as Nokia, Ericsson and IBM, should be functional within 18 months.
The company has introduced a unique offer whereby only customers in Kolkata, Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman can make both local and STD calls at a flat rate of Re 1 anywhere in the country by using value packs of 36 (East STD pack) and 57 (National STD pack).

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Centre-okays-PaltaTala-pipeline-project/304044/

Centre okays Palta-Tala pipeline project

Kolkata, April 30 Kolkata’s perennial water woes will soon be a thing of the past. On Tuesday, the Centre gave its nod to the new Palta-Tala underground pipeline project. The proposal was pending with the government for the last six months.
“The Rs 305-crore project will begin in next month,” said Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya. While the Centre will fund 35% of the project, the remaining 65% will be funded by the state government and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). The project will involve the construction of a parallel pipeline alongside the old pipeline.

“Of the total 24 km-stretch, 12 km will be laid in the trenchless way, while the remaining will be laid by cutting the road,” said Bhattacharya.

He added that at present, the city receives 356 million gallons water from Palta through the trunk pipeline. Of this, about 35% of the water is wasted due to leaks in the old pipeline. The project will take about 12 to 16 months to get completed. The KMC has few other projects lined up to check water problems. A new water treatment plant is coming up at Dhapa, while a 35 million gallon water plant is being constructed at Garden Reach.

thanks dude. ^^ :). love the Hoogley bridge video too. :cheers:

Rajarhat, rundown of major projects. But i can't upload the vid here.
http://www.ilovekolkata.in/component/option,com_seyret/task,videodirectlink/Itemid,568/id,31/

Rajarhat, rundown of major projects. But i can't upload the vid here.
http://www.ilovekolkata.in/component/option,com_seyret/task,videodirectlink/Itemid,568/id,31/

Very nice find man. :)

Probable land given to IT companies ( opposite of Vedic village)

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/394/pict1733tt3.jpg

Kolkata to get its first ENT hospital
(http://howrah.org/West-Bengal/11093.html)

Kolkata, May 2 (IANS) Kolkata is all set to get a hospital fully dedicated to ENT (ear-nose-throat) problems by the end of this month.

The Rs.90-million ($2.25 million) project, developed by healthcare project developer Medicare Synergie Pvt Ltd, will start functioning at Mukundapur on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass in the southern fringes of the city.

"It is going to be the first ENT hospital of the city. Built over 5,000 square feet, the hospital will be facilitated with the most modern equipments and infrastructure to give the best treatment to patients. We will get three doctors from the UK to take charges of different departments," company chairman Alok Roy told IANS Friday.

"The hospital will start functioning by the end of May this year," he added.

The 25-bedded hospital will have separate clinics for hearing problems, headache, sinusitis, head and neck oncology and ENT problems of children.

Hospital over 5000 sqft ?????
Typo or something really that bad ??

Kolkata to get its first ENT hospital
(http://howrah.org/West-Bengal/11093.html)

It is not that much bad. You don't need so much big hospital for treatment of diseases relating to ENT only(for treatment of ENT, most hospitals have OPD only). Basically a large clinic type centre where one can get everything includng diagnostic centre, laboratories or hospitalisation in extreme cases(for that 25 beds, is not bad). Think that you are having 50 rooms of 100 square feet each. A 100 square feet consultating room of a doctor is not bad:okay:

The Telegraph 05.05.2008


Mitsubishi cell unit in Bengal
SOHINI MOOKHERJEA

Calcutta, May 4: Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation will make mobile phones in Bengal through a tieup with local entity GeePee Mobiles. This will be Mitsubishi’s first such project in the country.
Senior officials of Mitsubishi Corporation India had a meeting with GeePee representatives on April 30 in Tokyo to discuss the nature of the alliance.
According to Bijay Agarwal, managing director of GeePee Infotech Pvt Ltd, “We were approached by Mitsubishi officials in November and have been in touch with them since then. We plan to jointly set up a mobile phone manufacturing unit in the state. Mitsubishi will get back to us within the next 15 days with the board’s approval on the exact nature of the project and the terms and conditions.”
Agarwal said the agreement could either involve component supply, testing and research and development work with Mitsubishi or a joint venture company.
Mitsubishi had earlier decided to exit the business globally after making heavy losses.
Mitsubishi Corporation has a strong presence in Bengal, where it has a Rs 3,000-crore chemical plant in Haldia.
The company has also announced expansion plans in Haldia.
The mobile plant will require investment of Rs 100 crore and employ around 1,500 workers.
Unlike Japanese and European markets where growth in mobile subscribers has stagnated, India hopes to add another 250 million subscribers by 2010.
Mobile phone production in India is expected to grow to 107 million units in 2011 from 31 million units in 2006 at a compounded annual growth rate of 28.3 per cent.
Revenues from mobile phone manufacturing, which was at $4.9 billion in 2006, is likely to touch $13.6 billion by 2011, according to a report by global research agency, Gartner.
At present, production in India is dominated by the top five global handset vendors —Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG.
The Indian Cellular Association (ICA), the apex body of handset manufacturers in the country, has projected India as the next global export hub for mobile devices, accounting for 10 per cent of the world’s handsets by 2010.

Source (http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=56159)


Private Bangladesh airline to fly to Kolkata

Dhaka, May 4: United Airways, Bangladesh's private airline, plans to begin its Dhaka-Kolkata flight from the first week of July, media reported Sunday.

"We are hopeful about starting a flight on the Dhaka-Kolkata route from the first week of July this year. We will seek permission from Indian authorities this week," said Jilanee F.R. Chowdhury, director-in-charge of marketing and sales of the airline.

It will be the fifth airline, after Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines, Air India and Jet Airways, to fly between Kolkata and Dhaka.

The carrier, a venture of non-resident Bangladeshis in Britain, is set to go beyond the border after flying for about a year on domestic routes.

United Airways unveiled the plan after the government allowed the carrier to operate flights to Kolkata, Kathmandu, Bahrain, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai, The Daily Star said.

"Some 200,000 passengers fly on the Dhaka-Kolkata route every year with 75 percent of them Bangladeshis. There is a very good prospect," said Jilanee.

Industry people said pilgrims, patients, students and tourists mainly travel on the route and the number of passengers is growing by around 10 percent a year.

Starting operations in July last year, the carrier has purchased two 37-seater Dash 8-100 aircraft to grab the potential of Bangladesh's aviation market that is growing by around 7.5 percent annually.

The airline has also planned to procure two wide-bodied aircraft in order to run competitively on the international routes.

Jilanee said the carrier will run daily flights to Kolkata. "But we want to operate two flights a day later on," he said.

Ismail R. Chowdhury, vice president of GMG Airlines operating on the route for the last couple of years, observed that the entry of United Airways to the route will help boost the market.

--- IANS

The Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080505/jsp/calcutta/story_9216807.jsp)

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6215/05lakepixgj5.jpg
The Rs 70-crore Lake Mall, an urban renewal initiative to transform the decaying Lake Market into an organised retail-social rendezvous, will be unveiled early next year.

The mall will have a four-screen multiplex by Fun Republic, a 40,000-sq ft Big Bazaar as anchor, a two-level outlet of apparel chain Globus, speciality dining and fresh vegetables, fish and meat in a “cleaner, formatted ambience”.

The first civic market to be handed over by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) to a private realtor for redevelopment, the Lake Market revival project deal was inked by former mayor Subrata Mukherjee with Venkatesh Foundation.

“The brief from the CMC was to protect the interests of the 300-odd shopkeepers and improve civic conditions inside the open market on the ground floor. Around 250 shop-owners will be rehabilitated on the ground level and the rest who want to leave are being compensated,” Piyush Bhagat, a director in Venkatesh Foundation, tells Metro.

The renewal, being carried out through public-private partnership (PPP), entails erection of a G+6 structure, with a floor-plate of 33,000 sq ft on each level. The ground level will remain an open market for fresh produce, fish and meats and daily needs, to be catered by the existing shop-owners.

Big Bazaar will take up space on the first and second levels, and Globus on the second and third, across 10,000 sq ft. The mall will also house shoe brands like Reebok and Adidas, besides popular brands like Archies, Turtle and Rolex Opticals.

Fun Republic from the Zee TV group will operate the cineplex on the fifth floor, which will share the floor-plate with two speciality restaurants. A 13,000-sq ft food court on the fourth level will be franchised to Hangout, a brand of the Ambuja Realty group.

The CMC will be handed over 10,000 sq ft inside the complex. “We are planning to set up a citizens’ service centre there, which will provide a computerised database of all civic amenities and facilities in that area,” says Aroop Mandal, the deputy manager (PPP) of the CMC.

The mall, being designed by J.P. Agrawal, will have seismic zone III-compliant RCC frame structure, contemporary glass-and-aluminium façade with colourful panels on all four sides, colonial-style interiors, foyer with granite flooring and a large freight lift from basement to all floors.

The lifts and escalators will connect the ground-floor central lobby with each of the upper levels, with convenient seating alcoves on every floor. “Lake Mall won’t have high-end frills you would find in a luxury mall, but will boast all the basic comfort tools one expects in an organised retail place,” promises Bhagat

Calcutta Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080506/jsp/calcutta/story_9228799.jsp)
Luxury condos, Singapore-style
- Rajarhat complex to offer wi-fi link, aroma garden and cricket field
SUBHRO SAHA

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080506/images/06kep1.jpg
An artist’s impression of Elita Garden Vista

A realty major from Singapore is setting up luxury condos in New Town, complete with wi-fi connectivity, an aroma garden, an elevated green podium to camouflage the underground parking lot and a mini cricket field.

Elita Garden Vista, a 1,278-unit complex, is being developed on a 25-acre land parcel in Action Area III of the Rajarhat township by Keppel Land Limited, the property arm of the Keppel Group, one of Singapore’s multinational behemoths with core businesses in offshore and marine infrastructure and property.

Keppel Land’s Indian partners in the project — the first in the city being developed by a Singapore realty major — are the Jatia Group and the Puravankara Group. It’s set to be ready by end-2011.

Earlier, the Salim and Ciputra groups from Indonesia and Universal Success Group of Jakarta-based NRI Prasoon Mukherjee had kicked off the Kolkata West International City in west Howrah.

“We are happy to establish a footprint in Calcutta, which is one of the fastest-growing cities in India. We plan to do at least three more projects here, both in the residential and retail/commercial segments in the next five years,” said Albert Neo of Keppel Land, the marketing director of Keppel Magus Development Pvt Ltd, the consortium developing the New Town project. Keppel Land won the FIABCI award in 2005 (the Grammy equivalent in real estate) for its Caribbean at Keppel Bay, Singapore.

The Garden Vista complex in Rajarhat has Architects 61 of Singapore as the landscape consultants, while the project design was done by local architect J.P. Agrawal. The condos will be housed in 15 towers, with the tallest going up to 30 storeys.

Besides recreational amenities like a central swimming pool, a clubhouse, a gymnasium and a children’s playground, the complex will have features designed to suit the needs of IT professionals. “Calcutta is among the most significant IT growth centres in India after Bangalore and Hyderabad and our project, with an average unit price of around Rs 50 lakh, has been created to facilitate the lifestyle of the executives in the new-age service sectors,” said Neo.

“This project will provide a huge fillip to Calcutta’s property market,” feels Pawan Agarwal, of realty agents N.K. Realtors.

Rabindranath Tagore Centre Auditorium of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (http://www.iccrindia.org/) getting finishing touches.

photo from Telegraph India

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/9018/rabindranathatagorecentsj7.jpg

Mani Square, the 600,000 sq ft mall with IMAX, getting finishing touches

photo copyright Turquoise Chill

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3294/manisquarerohitnyssyc8.jpg

Not sure if this is for real, but looks interesting

CTS Bantala Project

video by Ayan Ghosh

mKDayUj012s

Wikimapia location as marked by someone

http://wikimapia.org/1586082/

Not sure if this is for real, but looks interesting

CTS Bantala Project

video by Ayan Ghosh

mKDayUj012s

Wikimapia location as marked by someone

http://wikimapia.org/1586082/

Nice find, Sun:cheers:. A couple of buildings look very similar to their HQ in Chennai. I thought the land parcel given to Cognizant is 6 acres however the from the video it looks like about 3-4 times the size.

Nice videos guys. Thanks..

:cheers:

Indian Express : 06.05.2008

100-acre textile park to soon come up on NH-6

Kolkata, May 5 A 100-acre textile park, called the Bengal Integrated Textile Park, is all set to come up at Sankrail in Howrah on NH -6. About 75 acre has been acquired under a Special Project Vehicle (SPV) for the purpose.
“An application along with a detailed project report (DPR) has already been sent to the Central government with a sanction letter from the state government,” said B K Nangalia, a member of Chamber Of Textile Trade and Industry (COTTI).

The developers are trying to come up with the project under the Scheme for Integrated

Textile Park (SITP) of the Union Ministry of Textiles. “The Central government will only accept the proposal when the total land needed for the project has been acquired,” said COTTI Joint Secretary Sanjay Kumar Todi.

About 150 units are proposed to come up in the park, generating employment for about 10,000 people. “The park will manufacture all kinds of products from hosiery to readymade garments,” Todi added.

COTTI is also coming up with a mega textile fair in the state from May 7 to 9, where 62 textiles units across the country are scheduled to participate.

Hotel Boom Is New Buzz In Bengal (http://newspostindia.com/report-53007)

The advent of various industries in West Bengal and the influx of people along with it have encouraged many hoteliers and realtors to infuse billions of rupees to cater to the burgeoning need for hotel rooms.

These realtors have stepped on the gas to change the city skyline and the state government is only too delighted to find so much investment in the state.

The Apeejay Group, which owns the Park Hotels, bagged a 3.35-acre property along Kolkata's Eastern Metropolitan Bypass for Rs.1.36 billion ($30 million) and has plans for a 300-room five star hotel in the plot.

Apart from the Apeejay group, other biggies who have planned to change the city skyline are DLF-Hilton and Bengal Shrishti Infrastructure Development Ltd.

Hotel occupancy in the recent years have increased manifold, making it extremely hard to get vacant rooms in the premium hotels without prior booking - sometimes months in advance.

With the state's Left Front government's effort to spruce the tourism sector in this region the occupancy rate will only multiply in the coming years, industry experts said.

'We are working on a premium hotel project in Rajarhat on eight acres property,' said Hemant Kanoria, director of Bengal Shrishti Infrastructure Development Ltd, whose Rs.5 billion ($125 million) hotel project is under way in Rajarhat.

'Kolkata is a buzzing city. Hotels have a great future over here,' Kanoria told IANS. The location of the group's project is in the north-western fringe of the city, with proximity to city's international airport.

He expects the project to be completed by 2010.

Commenting on the her group's 3.35-acre project, Priya Paul, the chairperson of Apeejay group, said: 'The acquisition is in tune with the continuing investment of the Apeejay Surrendra Group into developing West Bengal.'

Kolkata, which is known for its high cultural value and warmth, is gearing up to host many more guests in the coming days with sprawling hotels.

Hotel Boom Is New Buzz In Bengal (http://newspostindia.com/report-53007)

great news yet again.hopefully now we should see some action on the ground as well.

Calcutta Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080508/jsp/business/story_9239995.jsp)

Metro sets date for Calcutta launch

Mumbai, May 7: Wholesale retailer Metro Cash and Carry is planning to open its outlet in Calcutta in the third quarter of this fiscal. It will be the company’s fifth store in the country.

The Calcutta store of Metro Cash and Carry is coming up on the southern stretch of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass.

“The store should open by the July-September quarter this year,” Martin Dlouhy, managing director of Metro Cash and Carry India, said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the company’s outlet in Mumbai today.

Metro Cash and Carry has two stores in Bangalore and one in Hyderabad.

After opening the Calcutta store, the German wholesaler will go to Punjab.

“We are looking at India for long-term investment. We have identified 36 cities in the country with population of more than a million. Any of these cities can be our next destination. But after Calcutta, we are definitely looking at Punjab,” said James Scott, regional operating officer (Asia), Metro Cash and Carry International.

“Asia is an important growth region. We are present in five Asian countries and all represent tremendous opportunity along with great challenges. India has more than 1 billion consumers and a rapidly increasing middle class,” Scott added.

The company offers wholesale services to professional customers, hotels, restaurants and kirana stores. Clients have to get registered and are given customer cards.

“We do not follow any delivery model and only cash transactions are allowed,” said Dlouhy.

The company’s fourth store in Mumbai is its first multi-level store spread over 70,000 square feet in the central Mumbai suburb of Bhandup.

The company has hired around 300 local people for the store.

Metro Cash and Carry spends around Rs 80 crore on each store apart from the real estate cost.

The company feels the agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) acts of different states are the main stumbling blocks for its growth in the country.

Metro Cash & Carry under construction

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4967/metrosx8.jpg

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/493/metro2uw7.jpg

Any idea which project this is, right next to Calcutta Intl School ?

A signboard on the barricaded land (in front) reads 'proposed commercial complex'.

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1038/08052008465xc6.jpg

Bengal to get cable landing station (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Bengal-to-get-cable-landing-station/307075/)

Kolkata, May 8 The department of telecommunication (DoT) has given its approval on Thursday to set up a cable-landing station at Digha in West Bengal for the Rs 1600-crore submarine cable-laying project between India and South-east Asia.

The project, which will function as a parking space for submarine cables carrying bandwidth, is likely to reduce the bandwidth costs for the software and BPO Companies by 10-30%.

“It will help the information technology Companies in the eastern region as all of them are looking for an alternative route for connectivity. Their costs will come down eventually,” said the state information technology minister, Debesh Das.

According to an IT department official, the project was shifted from Haldia, the spot initially preferred, to Digha owing to locational disadvatages spotted by the Union telecommunication ministry.

The project has already been delayed by two years as Chennai, which already has two cable-landing stations, has been lobbying for it.

“This will open up newer opportunities for the region,” said Das. So far, the IT Companies in the region had been using cable-landing stations in Chennai, he added. Bengal’s first cable-landing station will serve as the entry point for undersea cables carrying the bandwidth. Submarine cables will bring bandwidth from Singapore to the state while carrying voice and non-voice data.

Millennium Telecom Ltd (MTL), a joint venture of Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, had floated Rs 1,600 crore tender last year for laying a submarine cable from India to South-east Asia and the Middle East. The cable will provide bandwidth apart from carrying long distance call traffic.

According to the sources in the IT ministry, the investment for cable-landing station project is Rs. 200 crore. “The project is likely to be up and running within a few months,” Das said.

Bengal to get cable landing station (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Bengal-to-get-cable-landing-station/307075/)

Yaay! This is the one I was looking for so long!

This is a real great news for Kolkata, West Bengal and the whole of East India.

Shah Rukh Khan launches first Reebok Knight Riders Store in Kolkata (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Shahrukh_launches_Knight_Riders_store/articleshow/3026148.cms)


Reebok India on Friday created history of sorts by bringing sports and stardom together.

The official merchandise partner for Kolkata Knight Riders, the IPL team owned by Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, invited Khan to open its first Knight Riders store on Sarat Bose Road in Kolkata. Knight Rider's fanatics were bowled over at this unexpected treat.

Up for grabs at the store were specially designed Knight Riders footwear and apparel fan gear. The line is complete with accessories like caps, head bands, wristbands, bag packs etc. The merchandise is also available at Reebok stores across the country at a price band of Rs 149 to Rs 1899.

Speaking on the occasion, Subhinder Singh, Managing Director, Reebok India Company said: "It's pure passion and zeal which drives Reebok as a brand and we see a parallel in Shahrukh's Knight Riders with their courage, captivating spirit and endearing attitude coming in to play. As a sports brand we believe in fulfilling potential and we strive hard to provide the best to our athletes and our consumers. With this store which embodies the spirit of Knight Riders we invite everyone to be a part of this astonishing fervor and be the 12th man."

Shahrukh Khan's message to his fans was clear "Be a Knight with Reebok." At the store opening Shahrukh said, "In Reebok I see a perfect fit. They embody the spirit of fulfilling potential, they have the passion to nurture talent and the aggression to take sports to the next level. I am excited that Reebok has created a benchmark by opening an exclusive Reebok Kolkata Knight Riders store for the fans. Launching a Knight Riders special fan gear is an initiative to inspire the fans to wear their emotions on their sleeves thereby taking the "Real Knight" into their homes."

Source: TOI EPaper


E-W Metro may connect airport
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kolkata: The East-West Metro may also connect with Kolkata airport, besides linking Howrah with Sector V. State transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury on Friday said a proposal has been mooted to connect the East-West Metro with the airport.
“The proposal was mooted only a few days ago during Delhi Metro Railway Corporation managing director E Shreedharan’s visit to the city to inspect the station spots. It is at a nascent stage. The matter was discussed by the finance minister on Friday. We will have to hold further discussions on the proposal to allocate another Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore to implement the project,” Chowdhury said on Friday.
The proposal provides for the bifurcation of the East-West Metro from Karunamoyee in Salt Lake and then connect with VIP Road at Baguiati from where it would head off to the airport.
Chowdhury said there is a possibility of the proposed route clashing with the plan to build a flyover that would connect Dum Dum Park with Baguiati Joramandir on VIP Road. “If the proposal materialises, then this issue would be sorted out,” he said.
Chowdhury also gave a detailed presentation on the East-West Metro project in Bidhannagar Municipality, outlining the Metro’s route in Salt Lake before its termination near Wipro at Sector-V. “If everything goes to plan, the route from Sector V to Sealdah via Karunamoyee, City Centre, Salt Lake stadium, Bengal Chemical and Phoolbagan would be ready and operational by the end of 2011,” Chowdhury said.
Some councillors raised the issue of whether any land acquisition would take place at Duttabad, the area through which the metro alignment would enter the township from EM Bypass. Chowdhury has assured that no land would be acquired there. “A maximum of 10-12 houses may fall within the alignment. We promise to rehabilitate anyone who is evicted,” he said.
Chowdhury also cleared the apprehension over the greenery at Central Park. “The greenery would not be destroyed at all,” he clarified.

Seems like a new project..

Source: TOI EPaper

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/4245/getimagedllce5.png

Seems like a new project..

Source: TOI EPaper

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/4245/getimagedllce5.png

It's just beside the Bidhan Nagar station. I think it's already completed. I saw them under construction 2 years before.

It's just beside the Bidhan Nagar station. I think it's already completed. I saw them under construction 2 years before.

I think you are referring to a different project which is kind of similar.

This one is under construction

http://www.merlinprojects.com/kol_apt_ulta_status.html

Source: The Economic Times (Bangalore edition)

COGNIZANT TO STEP UP PRESENCE IN ASIA-PACIFIC

After making major inroads into the European markets, Cognizant is stepping up its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, largely in Japan, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong to shore up revenues. In the first quarter of calendar 2008, Asian markets contributed just over 1% of Cognizant’s revenues. Siddhartha Mukherjee, vice-president of Cognizant Technology Solutions India said: “We’ve expanded into Europe substantially. Our European markets focus will continue as usual. We are also looking at newer locations in the Asia Pacific region. This region is slated to emerge as a growth driver for the company.”
Revenues for the first quarter increased to $643.1 million (Rs 2,572 crore) up 40% from $460.3 million (Rs 1841.2 crore) in the first quarter of 2007. GAAP net income was at $101.9 million (Rs 407.6 crore) or $0.34 per diluted share, compared to $75.4 million (Rs 301.6 crore), or $0.25 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2007. Almost 80% of revenue came from clients of North America and 19% from Europe. The remaining 1% came from Asia Pacific markets.

Cognizant’s headcount during the first quarter of calendar 2008 increased to 58,000, with net addition of roughly 2,600 employees around the world. The annualised employee attrition during the first quarter remained flat compared to Q4 of 2007 at 12.4%.

Asked what will be the manpower requirement for Cognizant in 2008, Mukherjee said: “We are in the process of preparing a manpower requirement roadmap right now. Therefore, we cannot spell our exact requirement. More or less, the trend in earlier years will be followed.”

Cognizant now employs nearly 5,000 professionals at its Kolkata centre. The company’s upcoming centre at Bantala will create an additional five-lakh sq ft of additional space. The first phase of the project is slated to become operational by the year-end and will engage 4,000 people. In the second phase, another 4,000 people will be added, while in the third phase the headcount will increase by another 6,000.

Mukherjee said: “The Bantala facility will become fully operational 2010-2011. The facility will have a capacity to engage a total of 16,000 professionals by then.” The new unit will largely deal with Cognizant’s existing areas of functions, which includes banking, financial services, insurance, retail, hospitality, logistics and manufacturing.

Source: The Economic Times (Bangalore edition)

16000 is good. :)

That means it's going to be quite big. What is the current manpower of CTS-Kolkata now? Any idea?

16000 is good. :)

That means it's going to be quite big. What is the current manpower of CTS-Kolkata now? Any idea?

5000.

16000 is good. :)

That means it's going to be quite big. What is the current manpower of CTS-Kolkata now? Any idea?

Ohh.. got it. It's on the report. It has around 5000 in Kolkata.

Kolkata is set to have its first art museum at Rajarhat. Christened Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA), the project is a brainchild of Rakhi Sarkar, the owner of Cima Art Gallery in Kolkata.

"The total project cost is estimated at Rs 550 crore. We have already received Rs 137 crore grant money from the West Bengal government and also 10 acres in Rajarhat for the museum. Various artists in India have donated Rs 3.5 crore. We are now raising the remaining sum from the Central government, corporates and other funding agencies," said Rakhi Sarkar, managing trustee, KMOMA.

It has roped in Herzog & de Meuron as the architect for the museum. KMOMA is expected to be up and running in another five years from now.

KMOMA will stock visual arts from the 15th century to the modern time. It will also house works of photography and cinema. It will have a national gallery which will focus on Indian visual art, reflecting colonial and post colonial phases. A comprehensive permanent collection will gradually emerge. A national selection board will be specially created to supervise the national collection.

The museum will also represent art from the West and Middle East, as well as art works from SAARC countries, Japan, China, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, among others. The museum will also have an academic wing which will conduct courses in museology, art history, art management, restoration, etc, in collaboration with institutes of international repute.

Business Standard (http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=37338)

^^ Another news about the modern art museum from economictimes (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Asias_first_museum_of_modern_Art_coming_up_in_Kolkata/articleshow/3034951.cms)

Museum of Modern Art coming up in Kolkata

KOLKATA: The metropolis will soon have a new a museum of modern art projected as the first of its kind in Asia.

The Rs 550-crore state-of-the-art centre will be a joint venture between the West Bengal government, Centre and a private enterprise Kolkata Museum of Modern Art (KMOMA).

The museum, to be set up on 10 acre in New Town of Rajarhat, on the outskirts of the metropolis, will have a National Gallery, Western Galleries, Far-Eastern Galleries and an Academic Wing, where a national collection of fine art ranging from the 19th century to the contemporary period will be exhibited.

KMOMA signed an agreement with the Swiss architect Herzog & de Meuron, based in Basel in Switzerland for the museum project.

The agreement was signed by KMOMA Managing Trustee Rakhi Sarkar and Herzog's senior partner Harry Gugger at a function here yesterday.

The KMOMA project is likely to be the second major international architecture in India after the landmark venture of French architect Le Corbusier, commissioned by former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to create Chandigarh in the 1950s.

^^
I must say Bengali's have brains.
Herzog & de Meuron WOW :)

^^Abstract/modern art should be interesting. :)

It is great that it is coming up at Rajarhat. In future Rajarhat would need more cultural centers/museums along the lines of Nandan, Indian Museum etc.

It mentioned they already got the land and some money. They already made an agreement with the Herzog & de Meuron. That’s very positive.

I wish they would start the work soon. Can not wait to see the design/rendering. Hope that will be an architectural marvel.

:cheers:

Check out the Tata Medical Centre
http://www.cannondesign.com

Check out the Tata Medical Centre
http://www.cannondesign.com

Thanks i-Design. Good find. :)

This is the plan(from the site):

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff132/SarafIndian/TataMed.jpg

Business Line : 14.05.2008

Nano rollout on schedule

Ambar Singh Roy

Kolkata, May 12 Tata Motors’ small car Nano will roll out of the Singur factory during the latter part of calendar year 2008. A company official on Tuesday reiterated that the project was progressing according to schedule and the rollout of the Nano would commence from the company’s Singur plant, that is located around 35 km from here.

Company sources said that trial production at Singur would begin next month even as commercial production would commence “during the latter part of 2008”. The sources added that work at the plant was moving “as per our schedule” and ancillary units around the factory were setting up operations “as per our calendar of production”.

The sources confirmed that the “standard version” of the Nano would be priced at Rs 1 lakh “excluding VAT and transportation costs”.

It may be recalled thatin February this year, Mr Ravi Kant, Managing Director of Tata Motors, had said trial production at the Singur plant would begin by June-July this year followed by commercial production in October.

“We have always maintained that we will launch the vehicle in the second half of the next financial year. That means we have maintained the time line and today also we are maintaining the same,” he had said. :)

Thanks i-Design. Good find. :)

This is the plan(from the site):

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff132/SarafIndian/TataMed.jpg


Looks good. And these are the renders from the website:


http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/9483/tatamemorialcannondesigtw5.jpg

^^ Nice Find there..hope to see it materialize soon..

This news has been in news for quite some time now..
But Express Hospitality (http://www.expresshospitality.com/20080515/market18.shtml) has come up with it reccently..


Newstrack

EmaarMGF to set up 3 luxury hotels in Kolkata

Signs MoU with WBTDC, SIDC

EH Staff - Kolkata

Real estate developer EmaarMGF Land has signed an agreement with the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) and Sunderbans Infrastructure Development Corp (SIDC) to accelerate tourism growth in the state.

As part the terms of the agreement, EmaarMGF will work towards expanding West Bengal's tourism portfolio and will develop existing tourist destinations, including the Sunderbans. Commenting on the development, Sanjiv Rai, its COO (Hospitality), said, "Our focus on hospitality aligns with the government's vision to position West Bengal as a gateway to the east for inbound and outbound tourists. We have chalked out big plans for the state and will set up three luxury hotels in the city."
......

The Asian Age : 15.05.2008

Bartending institute in city soon


Kolkata, May 14: The first ever bartending school in Eastern India is coming up in Kolkata.

The University College of Gastronomy (UCG), Stockholm has tied-up with The Kenilworth, Kolkata for providing an internationally acclaimed certificate course in bar management.

"There is a bar revenue growth of 25 per cent in Kolkata itself every year", managing director of the Kenilworth group, Raju Bharat said on Wednesday.

"There is a dearth of practically trained professionals in the industry as most hotel management schools emphasise on theoretical training. Our students will have at least four hours of practical training everyday which will include everything from purchasing basics to cocktail mixing, thus creating professional bar managers," he added.

The training will be useful for entrepreneurs and teachers as well.

The three-month course will start in June with 30 students in the first batch. It should be highlighted here that 30 per cent of the students are girls.

Patrick Pall, faculty of UCG, Sweden said, "This international standard course will provide employment anywhere in the world including clubs, pubs and cruises."

Patrick Pall and Cristiano Gardellini of UCG will train the faculty at the Kenilworth and monitor the overall performance of the students.

"We will have student exchange programmes as well," Mr Bharat said.

:)

Axis Mall - under construction in New Town

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4614/axismaller7.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/821/axismall1ky2.jpg

Mani Square - opening shortly on EM Bypass

http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/87/msquaresg4.jpg

The Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080516/jsp/calcutta/story_9276433.jsp)

Finance hub in Rajarhat

The city may get a financial hub on the lines of Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

“The state government has got proposals for developing a special zone for financial services. A financial centre on the lines of Bandra-Kurla Complex could be developed at Rajarhat,” said a senior government official on the sidelines of the pre-centenary celebrations of Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) on Thursday.

The stock exchange may develop the hub on a five-acre plot in Rajarhat that it will get from the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, the official said.

“Nothing has been finalised yet. The state housing development infrastructure corporation will show the plot to the CSE management in a few days,” the official said.

Sanson @ Sens Architects with Hafeez Contractor - Ideal Topsia II, Kolkata:
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/4527/01jl4.jpg

originally posted by Jai solidarity

Please disclose details about this Ideal Topsia II :nuts:

No info given, just posted on the architect's website. Seems to be 22-25 stories. Probably mall + hotel/residential

Don't know if this is a known website. Just found this today.

http://www.kolkatamalls.com

Good initiative ... but, not complete yet .... should make the site open for editing/posting .... development would have been much faster

Sanson @ Sens Architects with Hafeez Contractor - Ideal Topsia II, Kolkata:
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/4527/01jl4.jpg

thats a disgusting looking building :bash:

Financialexpress (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Thai-trade-team-eyeing-Bengal-tourism--foo)

A delegation from Thailand , comprising representatives from Bangkok Bank Public Company Ltd and Thailand B oard of Investments, is going to visit Siliguri and Darjeeling in the next two days for cooperation in food & fruit processing, agro foods and tourism sectors. They will also visit Durgapur Steel Plant of Steel Authority of India Ltd.

There is also a possibility of a ring road to be built in Kolkata by a Thai construction company. Currently, the company is surveying the roads in Kolkata and may soon submit a proposal to the state government in this regard.

"But it is only a possibility and nothing has been finalised yet," said Manop Mekprayoonthong, Thai consul general, at an interactive session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in the city on Monday. "In North Bengal , this company is constructing a highway to Assam border," he said. But he refused to divulge further details.

The delegation also met West Bengal Industrial Development Corp (WBIDC) and Jute Corporation of India officials. They have shown interest in retail, automobiles, IT, banking, petrochemical and silk industries.

At present 34 projects, worth over $1 billion, on infrastructure, ceramics, food processing and others are under process between the North East and Thai private entrepreneurs.

Speaking on bilateral trade between the two countries, he was quoted as saying: "It is about $4 billion and we hope to take it to $10 billion by 2010."

Another Thai delegation, comprising representatives from the ministry of environment ( Thailand ), is expected to visit Kolkata in the first week of July to "share experiences between the two nations in the implementation of the CDM (clean development mechanism) scheme," said Mekprayoonthong.

View from Nalban Boating Complex.

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/1048/dscf5305hv1.jpg

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/8759/dscf5292zr1.jpg

Very nice photo VegChop. But there is a separate thread for Kolkata Cityscape. Feel free to post there :)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=436029&page=73

:cheers:

Btw, the SDF building looks shit among those beautiful structures. :gaah:

Btw, the SDF building looks shit among those beautiful structures. :gaah:

It sure does. The color is weird.

Financialexpress (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Thai-trade-team-eyeing-Bengal-tourism--foo)

^^I hope they are referring to the elevated ring road.

^^I hope they are referring to the elevated ring road.

Some one year back I heard that one organization (?) was doing feasibility study for an inner ring road and an outer ring road, by modernizing and connecting the existing roads. Not sure, but may be they are talking about that. I will try to collect some information from internet.

I hope the idea of mobile food kiosks and food park would solve the problem of hawkers once and for all.


Sector V ideas set to bear fruit
- Administrative authority takes up company proposals placed a month ago

The Sector V administrative authority is trying to implement suggestions made a month back by companies in the tech hub.

The township, which doesn’t have a drug store, is likely to get a health clinic soon. According to plans, doctors will be on call at the clinic 24x7. Medicines, oxygen cylinders and ambulances will also be available.

“We are in talks with a company for setting up a clinic in Sector V that will provide health services round the clock. The company is waiting for a drug licence,” said S.A. Ahmed, the chairman of Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority.

The authority is also planning to introduce mobile food kiosks. “We will select some food vendors to operate the kiosks,” added Ahmed.

A cooperative of the selected vendors will be formed and they will be given trade licences. The kiosks are likely to be commissioned by the end of May and will be operational by the first week of July.

The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority has floated a tender for the construction of a food park on plot No. 6 in DN block of Sector V. The public-private partnership model will be followed for the project.

On the anvil is a bus service within the tech hub. “A company in Sector V has offered to sponsor the trial run of a bus. We have to popularise the concept among employees and see if the project will be commercially viable,” said Ahmed.

The authority has approached the urban development department regarding construction of two and three-star hotels in the tech hub.

The wish list submitted in April included middle-rung eateries, a pre-paid taxi stand and a crèche for working mothers.

“Social infrastructure is as important as physical infrastructure for attracting investments,” said Kalyan Kar, the managing director of Acclaris.

Sector V employees are reluctant to laud Nabadiganta until the projects are completed.

“We have been promised better roads, improved drainage system and better traffic management, but Sector V still gets waterlogged and we still spend a lot of time stuck in traffic,” said an employee of IBM.

“Traffic management, storm water drainage and sewage plans are virtually absent in Sector V. Septic pits have to be built and tubewells dug in the tech hub,” said architect and urban planner Partha Ranjan Das.

According to him market complexes and more open space were needed in Sector V. “There is no police station or post office. There is not even a fire station, which is a must in a place full of highrises,” said Das.

Business Line (from the Hindu) 20.05.2008


Time Technoplast plans packaging material unit at Kolkata
MUMBAI: Time Technoplast, engaged in manufacturing and sale of technology-based polymer products, proposes to set up a new plant in Kolkata for packaging material for plastic drums and automotive components.

"We are setting up a new unit for manufacturing of packaging materials and automotive components with five lakh tonnes capacity per annum in Kolkata," Mr Raghupathy Thyagarajan, Director, Time Technoplast said here today.

"The technology for the Rs 22-crore project will be provided by our joint venture partner Mauser and it is expected to commence production by September," he said.

The company is also looking at expanding capacity of its recently acquired unit at Hyderabad to manufacture high -technology valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries, Mr Thyagarajan said.

It offers a range of technology-based polymer products catering to the various sectors with industrial and consumer packaging solutions, lifestyle products, auto components, healthcare products and construction/infrastructure related products. - PTI

Business Line(from The Hindu) 20.05.2008

C. P. Chandrasekhar
Jayati Ghosh
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Bengal has been the focus of national discussion because of the various implications of its proposed industrialisation policy. In this edition of Macroscan, C. P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh consider the background to this policy by analysing the most recent available evidence on growth trends in West Bengal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the greater part of the past three decades, West Bengal has been among the middle ranking States of India, both in terms of per capita income and human development indicators. This has been despite the special feature of the State, that it has been ruled continuously by a Left Front government that has provided political stability and also, particularly in the first two decades, a clear orientation towards improving the conditions of workers and peasants.

Land reforms


This has made West Bengal the most active State in respect of land reform in the past two decades, leading the rest of the country not only in recording and legal recognition of the rights of sharecroppers but also in enforcing land ceilings and distributing surplus and vested land. (It should be remembered that even now West Bengal distributes more land to landless peasants than it acquires, and certainly distributes more than any other State.)

It also made the State a pioneer in the decentralisation of powers to the panchayats, well before the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution encouraged greater devolution in other States as well.

While these measures certainly contributed to the breaking of the “agrarian impasse” in Bengal and allowed for more rapid and diversified agricultural performance in the State, in other respects the economic performance of the State has been below expectation. This reflects the inherent difficulty of an autonomous development trajectory within a single State, even with a federal system of government, and the role of broader macroeconomic processes in determining outcomes even within the State.

To this must be added several other constraints on growth, which are essentially the effects of history and geography. At Independence, West Bengal was among the more industrialised States of the country. Subsequently, however, a combination of factors meant that organised manufacturing industry generally stagnated, especially compared to other regions. These included the absence of a local bourgeoisie with an inherent interest in investing within the State; reduction in public investment in railways that had previously encouraged the local engineering industries; and national policies such as the freight equalisation policy that eliminated the State’s regional cost advantages from proximity to coal and steel resources.

In addition, West Bengal has been situated in what has been a relatively poor and economically stagnant region of India, such that there have been very few economic growth stimuli coming from the surrounding region. Indeed, for the better part of the past two decades the economy of West Bengal has been the only dynamic one in the region.

Despite these constraints, it is not generally known that over the 1990s West Bengal was one of the fastest growing States in India, and actually showed the second highest rate of aggregate SDP growth among major States, after Karnataka. This tendency was even more marked in per capita terms, because West Bengal has been successful in controlling fertility to a greater extent than many other States.

While agricultural output growth was the dominant reason for this, industrial output also grew rapidly, not so much in the organised sector but in the non-registered and unorganised manufacturing industries that proliferated as a consequence of greater rural prosperity.

For the past decade, West Bengal has had the largest number of and the most rapid growth in small-scale and cottage industries among all the States.

However, much like small manufacturing elsewhere in the country, such small units in West Bengal have recently been adversely affected by neo-liberal economic policies implemented by the Central Government, which have led to rising costs and greater competition from both organised manufacturing and liberalised imports. The negative fallout of these processes on small manufacturers and traders has been particularly evident since the start of the current decade.

eRevMax ramping up headcount at Kolkata centre (http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14677992)


Kolkata: eRevMax Inc., a New Jersey-headquartered company engaged in the development and distribution of a suite of revenue maximisation and online distribution management software products for the hospitality and travel industry, will ramp up the headcount at its Kolkata development centre from 130 to 1,000 in the next two years.

After positioning the ‘RateTiger’ suite of products in the hospitality industry in Europe and North America, the company’s offerings have begun to generate interest among Indian hotel majors, according to Andrew Morsi, Chief Executive Officer of eRevmax.

Morsi told Business Line that, with a rise in online hotel bookings, coupled with competition over tariffs, hotels were more inclined to install the ‘RateTiger’ software suite and offer competitive rates online. “Besides taking on competition, this helps them generate incremental business as well and maximise revenue,” he said, and added that 51 per cent of the hotel bookings done in the US in 2007 was done online, up from three per cent in 1998.

Morsi explained that the ‘RateTiger’ suite helps the hospitality industry to maximise revenues through optimal inventory distribution on the Internet. The ‘RateTiger’ portfolio enables hoteliers to compare rates with their competitors on a real-time basis thus enabling them to offer competitive rates. It also helps them to put up these revised rates on various distribution channels and travel portals using a single interface.

According to him, till recently, 70 per cent of the company’s business was generated from Europe with North America accounting for the rest. With increasing competition in the hospitality sector in India, hotels here, too, have evinced interest in leveraging from the ‘RateTiger’ suite of products.

Already, eRevMax’s clients in India include Oberoi Hotels, Trident, Meridian in Mumbai and Maidens and ITC Maurya Sheraton in New Delhi. “We have been doubling our business year-on-year. The interest hospitality majors here in India have begun to show on our products will help us sustain this growth,” Morsi said.

This is IBM at Rajarhat. Is it a DLF building?

Photo by tamalika_jht

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2107168887_823928437a_b.jpg

This is IBM at Rajarhat. Is it a DLF building?

Photo by tamalika_jht

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2412/2107168887_823928437a_b.jpg

Yes, it is part of the first DLF IT park

http://www.kolkatamalls.com/index1.php

This site/concept is created for the 1st time in india to provide all information about Existing Malls, Upcoming Malls, Standalone Markets, Chain Stores, Megastores, KMC (Kolkata Municipal Corporation) Markets, Retail Market in Kolkata. People can get good and fair idea about the development of Malls and Markets going on in and around of Kolkata. This site is a initiative of "VINDHYA PROJECTS" one of the fastest growing IT Company in Kolkata.

They have promoted one more site in the name of http://www.kolkatapropmart.com .... This is also Regional Real Estate Portal Dedicated to Kolkata. We can find Real Estate Projects, Properties in Kolkata. We can search for properties and projects in kolkata....Just like 99 acres ...they are countrywide where as Kolkatapropmart.com is City Based.

net4offers - thanks for bringing forth these websites and welcome to the forum. Feel free to post relevant information related to developments in Kolkata metro region from these sites:)

South City Towers Update from southcityprojects.com


http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/1971/sg2037ui9.jpg

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8909/sg42iq7.jpg


http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/3095/sg43pf3.jpg


http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1146/sg44dx7.jpg




South City Mall

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/8898/sg45up5.jpg


http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/9267/view1au0.jpg


http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4436/view2bpt8.jpg


http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8749/sg46pi4.jpg

ICCR to open first cultural diplomacy centre in Kolkata
Bombay News.Net
Thursday 22nd May, 2008 (IANS)

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) will open its first cultural diplomacy centre in Kolkata next week - that will exclusively interact with South East Asian nations.

The Rabindranath Tagore Centre will be inaugurated May 31 by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, ICCR president Karan Singh and other senior ICCR officials present.

Eighteen years after the state government donated land for the project, the centre is expected to become a hub for international cultural events, with artists from the South East Asian nations exhibiting their traditional and contemporary arts.

'In the true spirit of Tagore's faith in universalism, the centre would ideally become a hub of cultural activity inviting international participation with considerable local interaction,' said a press release issued by the ICCR Thursday.

The four-storey complex, on a plot of 3,442 square metres, was designed by famous Indian architect Charles Correa and completed by Kolkata architect Dulal Mukherjee. It has several art galleries spread over three floors.

It also has a library and archives, along with lecture and seminar rooms, as well as a Maulana Azad Conference Centre.

The art galleries have been named after luminaries from Bengal - Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal bose, Jamini Roy and Ramkinkar Baij.

A 280-seat auditorium has been named after Bengal's foremost film auteur Satyajit Ray :banana:

The Hindu : 23.05.2008

Remote sensing training centre in Kolkata soon

Kolkata: A remote sensing application-training centre is scheduled to come up in the city by the next year, said G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), at a function here on Thursday. “Work on the project has already started at the Salt Lake City site provided by the State government,” he said.

Expressing satisfaction about the success of the recent Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launch at Sriharikota, he said, “Images better than the Google Earth will be available through the satellites in another six months.”

Speaking about the future projects of ISRO, Dr. Nair said, “the unmanned Chandrayaan lunar vehicle is in its building and testing phase and is expected to be launched by the third quarter of this year.”

The mission will study the lunar surface nature and probe the availability of water and helium on the moon. Dr. Nair said ISRO is also launching an indigenous cryogenic flight, by the end of this year, using a Geo-synchronic Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). “Our organisation will also launch two commercial satellites for the European Union within this year,” he said.

Dr. Nair said policy restrictions of some foreign countries were hindering more commercial satellite launches which are only 14 as opposed to 50 indigenous launches so far. “We are in talks with various international agencies to smoothen the process,” he said.:)

Statesman News Service (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=205303)

LIC plans Rs 2,000-cr land acquisition

KOLKATA, May 23: Life Insurance Corporation of India has acquired five acres of land near Eastern Bypass and intends to set up a 50 storied building at an investment of Rs 400 crore. The insurance behemoth has paid Rs 276.20 crore to Kolkata Municipal Corporation for the land.
Speaking to reporters here today, Mr DK Banerjee, chief engineer, LIC said the planning process was under way and 14 project consultants had been short-listed. The company has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore in 2008-09 for land acquisition all over India. It has 81 buildings in Kolkata, and had earned a rental income of Rs 22 crore from the region last year.
This year it expects an increase of 30 per cent in its rental income. It also plans to set up 52 satellite offices in the eastern region, 45 of which have already been sanctioned. It also going to enhance its presence in the North-East.
Meanwhile, the company means to bring down the share of unit linked insurance policies (ULIPs) in its business premium, and push up sales of traditional life insurance products. "We've set a target to keep the contribution of ULIPs at 60 per cent, with the remaining 40 per cent coming in from traditional products," informed Mr RR Dash, zonal manager of LIC at the launch of company's new Unit Linked Endowment Plan, Money Plus-1.
ULIPs have been the highest growth area for the company, registering an increase of 52 per cent last year in the eastern region. The total premium garnered in the eastern region in 2007-08 was Rs 13,895 crore, with the first year premium income amounting to Rs 4,101.85 crore.
The first premium target for the eastern region in 2008-09 has been set at Rs 5500 crore. “We expect to earn one third of our premium, that is around Rs 1800 crore from the money plus scheme”, said Mr Dash.
The plan is designed to offer dual benefits of investment and insurance and has a minimum annual premium of Rs 5,000, with the option to switch from one fund to another with four free switches per year. The surplus from the eastern region amounted to Rs 6193 crore in 2007-08. The company anticipates a 50 per cent growth in the surplus generated this financial year.

^^ More on that from the Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080524/jsp/calcutta/story_9311349.jsp)

Wow, a new tallest!

^^Great news. Can't wait to see the renders:)

[QUOTE=sidney_jec;21031124]^^ More on that from The Telegraph

Yes. Here is that article:

The Telegraph(Kolkata) : 24.05.2008

Tallest tower on priciest plot

The plot opposite Science City, now rented out for weddings, on which LIC plans a 50-storey tower.

Calcutta’s tallest building will come up on a plot that took the price of prime land to stratospheric heights.

Life Insurance Corporation of India, which forked out Rs 276 crore last year for five acres opposite Science City on EM Bypass, has decided to develop a 50-storey commercial property there. That is 15 floors more than the South City residential towers, at present the tallest in the city.

“We plan to build a 150-metre-tall commercial estate on this plot with an estimated investment of Rs 400 crore. It will be the most stylish and definitely the tallest building in the city. As of now, we have plans to construct a 50-storey building with seven lakh sq ft of usable space,” the chief engineer (eastern zone) of LIC, Deb Kumar Banerjee, said.

The insurance major has shortlisted 14 consultants, including some international firms, for the building contract. “We hope to start work by the end of the current fiscal,” Banerjee said.

The company already owns 81 buildings across the city. In 2007-08, the eastern zonal office earned Rs 22 crore from rent alone.

Banerjee said LIC was keen to develop housing estates along with commercial centres. One of these will be a 35,000-sq-ft project near Durgapur Bridge in New Alipore. “Our company owns that plot and we are planning to build a G+13 structure where LIC policy-holders will get preferential allotment.”

Another 43 flats will come up in New Alipore within the next six months. “We have already built 72 flats on that plot and 43 more are under construction,” Banerjee said.

Anyone with an LIC policy can apply for a housing unit in these residential projects. A lottery will decide who gets to buy the units :)

Great information dude................. may one day we can see it in reality.

I found this websites recently launched for kolkata only
For Existing malls, upcoming malls, kmc markets, standalone markets info.........
http://www.kolkatamalls.com/index1.php

To find properties, flats, villas in kolkata, people can get the all projects details which are going on in kolkata.......
http://www.kolkatapropmart.com

50-Floors Tower is a great news.

Awesome news

Cannot wait to see its photo....

New Delhi, May 24: The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) will open its first cultural diplomacy centre in Kolkata shortly, that will exclusively interact with South East Asian nations.

The Rabindranath Tagore Centre will be inaugurated May 31 by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, ICCR president Karan Singh and other senior ICCR officials present.

Eighteen years after the state government donated land for the project, the center is expected to become a hub for international cultural events, with artists from the South East Asian nations exhibiting their traditional and contemporary arts.

“In the true spirit of Tagore`s faith in universalism, the center would ideally become a hub of cultural activity inviting international participation with considerable local interaction,” said a press release issued by the ICCR on Thursday.

The four-storey complex, on a plot of 3,442 square metres, was designed by famous Indian architect Charles Correa and completed by Kolkata architect Dulal Mukherjee. It has several art galleries spread over three floors.

It also has a library and archives, along with lecture and seminar rooms, as well as a Maulana Azad Conference Centre.

The art galleries have been named after luminaries from Bengal - Abanindranath Tagore, Nandalal bose, Jamini Roy and Ramkinkar Baij.

A 280-seat auditorium has been named after Bengal`s foremost film auteur Satyajit Ray.


http://international.zeenews.com/inner1.asp?aid=201883&sid=ART&ssid=1

Great news for Kolkata. For several decades the highrise scene was a bit stagnant here but now it seems to be holding its own compared to other Indian cities. In the BD forum we were having a discussion about how tall it would be possible to build on our soft soil using foundations of normal depth. But I guess if it can be done in Kolkata, 50 storeys should not be a problem in Dhaka either.

Great news for Kolkata. For several decades the highrise scene was a bit stagnant here but now it seems to be holding its own compared to other Indian cities. In the BD forum we were having a discussion about how tall it would be possible to build on our soft soil using foundations of normal depth. But I guess if it can be done in Kolkata, 50 storeys should not be a problem in Dhaka either.

Yes tan.. South city already constructed four 35 floor tower without any hassle. So, making 50 story structure should not be a great deal.

Here is the south city structure. photo source:http://www.southcityprojects.com

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5919/southcitytower1lc2.jpg

50 storey sounds cool. Hopefully it is not jinxed like the other proposals. At least the LIC has some credibility.

But then there may be some politicians who oppose this project because they want attention and love to create chaos. Then there could be the environmentalists who think that the building may be in flight path of migratory birds. No such project can go ahead without environmental clearance from sleepy babus in Delhi. Then there will be social activists who will think that infrastructure around cannot take the load of a 50 storey tower. There will be the media which will quote all kinds of unnamed experts on why the tower should not be built. Of course there is the aviation authoritiy who may not like a 50 storey tower.

So lets keep our fingers crossed.

50 storey sounds cool. Hopefully it is not jinxed like the other proposals. At least the LIC has some credibility.

But then there may be some politicians who oppose this project because they want attention and love to create chaos. Then there could be the environmentalists who think that the building may be in flight path of migratory birds. No such project can go ahead without environmental clearance from sleepy babus in Delhi. Then there will be social activists who will think that infrastructure around cannot take the load of a 50 storey tower. There will be the media which will quote all kinds of unnamed experts on why the tower should not be built. Of course there is the aviation authoritiy who may not like a 50 storey tower.

So lets keep our fingers crossed.

Well, there will always be some pigs to eat the sheet.

But, we have seen project like Southcity. And the 40-storey unitech tower is also on its way. So lets hope for the best. Personally I believe structure up to 70-storey is not a big deal in present situation in Kolkata. Just someone(like Southcity, unitech, DLF, LIC, Godrej, BIPL etc) has to take the initiative. :)

More Flights from city
Source: Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080527/jsp/calcutta/story_9322799.jsp)


Five a week to Frankfurt


Europe’s second largest airline, Lufthansa, has decided to increase the number of flights between Calcutta and Frankfurt from three to five a week, beginning June 3.

The airline’s director for South Asia, Werner Heesen, said on Monday that Calcutta was “increasingly gaining in importance as a strategic growth market” and that this was reflected in the demand for tickets.

The new flights will take off from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 12.55am on Wednesdays and Sundays and reach Frankfurt at 7.25am local time.

“Lufthansa has steadily expanded its flight calendar to the country in recent years… We are monitoring Calcutta’s market very closely and have plans to introduce daily flights from the city soon,” Heesen said.

Business travellers account for 60 per cent of Lufthansa’s passenger traffic to and from Calcutta.

The addition of two flights has increased Lufthansa’s presence in India to 50 flights a week from seven destinations. The increase was made possible by an air traffic agreement signed by India and Germany in April.

According to the agreement, 69 flights each can be operated every week by German and Indian carriers. Industry sources said Lufthansa was contemplating connecting Calcutta to Munich, but Heesen declined comment.

The airline only recently introduced a direct flight from Mumbai to Munich.

“With direct connectivity to Europe, there has been an 18 per cent growth in passenger traffic to that sector over the past year. It is likely to go up even more this year,” Anil Punjabi, chairman (east) of the Travel Agents’ Federation of India, said.

Emirates recently increased its flight frequency from the city. The airline flies Calcutta-Dubai daily. Thai Airways, too, operates daily flights to Bangkok.

Business Standard 28.05.2008

Xenitis mobile, laptop break price barrier

Kolkata-based Xenitis Group, the Rs 1,000 crore electronics and motorbike maker, today launched yet another range of products aimed at rewriting the price barriers in its operating segments.


The products launched today include mobile handsets at Rs 499 and laptops priced at Rs 14,990.

The other mobile handsets launched were priced upto Rs 2,000.

These mobile handsets are targeted at entry level users with the aim to increase mobile penetration in rural Bengal.

The models will be available in the stores by the end of this year.

The Xenitis laptop called Xuva XC 200 is priced at Rs 14,990, the lowest priced notebook PC in the country.

Earlier Xenitis launched Xuva T14WN series of laptop at Rs 19,990.

Xuva XC 200 is configured with Intel Celeron 2Ghz (550), 512 MB RAM, 120 GB HD, DVD, Card Reader, SIS chipset & & 13.3" WXGA LCD.

Speaking on the occasion, Santanu Ghosh, chairman of the company, said, "Our aim is to revolutionise the mobile handset market by introducing affordable handsets with all key features. We hope to tap the market with our affordable handsets.

We are already getting good response from handset retailers due to low price and extra features. We also have plans to come up with improved features including dual SIM card in the next phase. We have floated a new company Xenitis Telecommunications for our venture in mobile handset manufacturing."

Xenitis has already bagged the order for supplying 1,60,000 mobile handsets per month of which 50,000 will be exported to Dubai and Middle East.

It has also tied-up with telecom service providers Airtel and Vodafone for bundled offers.

Xenitis will invest Rs 430 crore in the next six months.

Ghosh informed, "We will invest Rs 220 crore in Xenitis Infotech for capacity expansion, Rs 110 crores in Global Automobiles and Rs 250 crore in setting up a mobile handset manufacturing factory in West Bengal. This will be our third plant in the state. In the next six months Xenitis will generate additional direct employment opportunity for 650 people."

Xenitis has also got an additional 10 acre for its third plant.

This year the Xenitis Group posted a turn over of Rs 1,000 crore.

Xenitis Infotech Ltd, the flagship company of Xenitis Group contributed Rs 860 crore while Global Automobiles registered a turnover of Rs 152 crore.

The projected group turnover is Rs 2,000 crore for 2008-2009.

A team of 20 members from West Bengal State Assembly's Standing Committee on Commerce and Industry led by the chairman Sudip Bandopadhyay visited the Global Automobiles factory on Tuesday. Bandopadhyay unveiled UFO 0150, the 150 cc scooter, from the Global Automobiles stable.

Targeted at the urban youth with a focus on students, UFO 0150 comes with 150 cc, four-stroke engine, electronic self-start and kick-start facilities, metal bodied chassis and front and side cover in ABS. It is available in red, black, yellow and silver. The ex-showroom price of UFO 0150 is Rs 34,990.

:)

Calcutta telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080529/jsp/calcutta/story_9333663.jsp)

Road caves in off mega project
- Adjacent building develops cracks, tilts forward after subsidence

An over 1,200-sq-ft chunk of Rajdanga Main Road, next to the site of a Rs 400-crore mall-stadium-highrise project, caved in on Tuesday night. The subsidence caused cracks in the walls of an adjacent five-storeyed building, which has also tilted forward.

Damage to the underground pipe has plunged the area into a water crisis.

The crack extends more than 80 feet in front of the Acropolis construction site, spread over more than a third of the 45-ft-wide Bypass connector, near Siemens.

Acropolis, being developed over 6.5 acres on the Kasba-Rajdanga ground, will house a 4,000-seat sports stadium, a 17-level business tower and a shopping mall with a four-screen multiplex. The plot was being excavated for the past few months to construct the three-level car park for 750 vehicles.

Mackintosh Burn, a state government undertaking, is executing the project for Merlin group and the Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).

“We are living in constant fear as the first-floor wall has developed cracks and the building has tilted forward. There has been no structural damage but prompt action needs to be taken,” said Rajarshi Ray, a tenant of the damaged building.

Sujay Mukherjee, a structural engineer who also lives in the house, said the agency should have erected a wall to support the road before starting the excavation.

The road sprang cracks about five days ago, he added. “Water leaking from the underground pipe made the soil loose and caused the cave-in. The authorities turned a blind eye to the cracks. It could have been a disaster.”

While the civic body’s chief engineer (water supply) said the “compaction” of the road was not strong enough, the CEO of the CMDA dismissed the cave-in as a “small thing”.

Merlin Group managing director Sushil Mohta said “all the precautionary measures had been taken” but such mishaps were known to happen. “The civic authorities are taking appropriate measures.”

“A probe will determine whether the ongoing work needs to be reviewed,” said Nilmoni Dhar, the managing director of the executing agency. “I inspected the site. Sand filling is being carried out to stop another cave-in. We could not predict the mishap.”

He claimed that the tilt in the building was not caused by the subsidence.

The cave-in has caused resentment among residents, about 200 of whom are going without water. Some of them filed a police complaint.


Photo from the page

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff132/SarafIndian/raj1.jpg

This is the Acropolis project render

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3396/acropolismerlinkl2.jpg

Statesman News Service (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=12&theme=&usrsess=1&id=205899)

Emami modernising Kolkata plant

KOLKATA, May 28: Emami Limited, the flagship company of the Emami Group, is modernising its Kolkata plant, and is increasing its present capacity by 30-40 per cent. The capacity augmentation and modernisation programme at the manufacturing facility, that focuses mainly on the export markets, should be completed within six months. The company is also going to launch a range of baby-care products.
Emami reported a net profit of Rs 35 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2008, an increase of 52 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year. Net sale in the fourth quarter grew by 19 per cent to reach Rs 179 crore. The company posted a full year net profit of Rs 92.7 crore, and sales turnover of Rs 584 crore.
The board of directors have recommended a higher dividend of 225 per cent at Rs 4.5 per share for 2007-08 .The company which exports to countries such as Russia, Bangladesh and Nepal, has recorded a 12 per cent growth in its export earnings during the year.
"Our exports would have grown more if the dollar depreciation had not occurred," said Mr N Venkat, CEO and executive director of Emami Ltd. West Asia has shown the greatest growth among its international markets, though Russia remains the company's largest international market.

After more flights its Catering Unit

Source: TOI EPaper


Lufthansa plans catering unit in city
Arpit Basu | TNN

Kolkata: Lufthansa Airlines plans to open an exclusive catering unit in Kolkata to supply in-flight meals to the 208-odd flights that land and take off from the city daily. The unit will also cater to the meal requirements of flights operating from other airports in the region.
Lufthansa South Asia director Werner Hessen told TOI that the carrier was keen to launch the Lufthansa Sky Chefs unit in Kolkata. “We did a feasibility study and submitted a proposal to the state government three months ago. Now, the wait is for allotment of land. Once that is through, we will prepare the blueprint and begin construction,” he said.
The catering unit will offer its meals to both international and domestic airlines operating out of eastern India. At present, Taj Sats of the Taj Group is the only full-fledged air catering firm in the country.
Lufthansa Sky Chefs has already set
up operations in Bangalore and Hyderabad. While the unit in Bangalore opened in 2001, the Hyderabad unit was launched in 2005. An airline source said the multi-cuisine unit would have a Bengali menu along with its exclusive continental cuisine to cater to the tastes of passengers flying into and out of the region.
Explaining the need for the catering unit, Hessen pointed to the growth in international passengers out of Kolkata. A large number of passengers are flying between Kolkata and Europe and the US. “Passengers from the US and Europe will prefer international quality food. They will add two more flights a week from the city from June 3, thus flying five times a week from here. The new flights will take off from Kolkata airport at 12.55 am on Wednesdays and Sundays and reach Frankfurt at 7.25 am local time.
“We noticed a 30% increase in the annual load factor. So, we are keen to introduce daily flights from the city soon,” Hessen said.

I suppose we still don't have direct Malayasia (Kuala Lumpur) flights after the earlier ones were withdrawn?

I suppose we still don't have direct Malayasia (Kuala Lumpur) flights after the earlier ones were withdrawn?

no, i dont think that they are in a mood to resume..

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata_/Kulpi_port_may_soon_be_a_reality/articleshow/3087582.cms)

The mini-port project at Kulpi in South-24-Parganas is all set to take off. Shipping secretary APVM Sharma, who held a meeting with chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb at Writers' Buildings on Friday, said the port would be coming up shortly. Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) chairman Anup Chanda was also present at the meeting.

Bengal Ports Limited (BPL), the prime promoter of the port, had been awaiting the Centre's approval as the port needs a nod from KoPT. So, Sharma's statement was vital for them. KoPT had been evaluating the project proposal and its impact, which delayed the clearance from the Centre. Though KoPT has no financial participation in the mini-port project, its approval is needed as the proposed port comes under its command area.

State commerce and industries secretary Sabyasachi Sen said the port will mainly be handling containers. Sharma said the port was being set up to handle the additional traffic along the Hooghly. The port will be sprawled over 500 acre and land has been identified. As most of it is vested, there would not be much trouble in acquiring the land.

Soon, an MOU will be signed between BPL, jointly promoted by Dubai Port World (DPW), and a consortium of Keventers group of Kolkata, Mukand group and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. Keventer and Mukand groups hold a 44.5% share in BPL while DPW holds 44.5% and WBIDC the rest.


Telegraph (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080531/jsp/bengal/story_9343262.jsp)


Calcutta, May 30: A second effort is being made to set up a container port in Kulpi, South 24-Parganas, 80km from Calcutta.

The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), Calcutta Port Trust and Bengal Port, a consortium of Dubai Port, Keventer Agro and the Mukand Group, are likely to sign a deal in a month.

Chief secretary A.K. Deb today held a meeting with Union shipping secretary A.P.V.M. Sharma, state industries secretary Sabyasachi Sen and WBIDC director M.V. Rao to discuss the project.

“We will require about 500 acres and almost all of it is government land. A small area needs to be privately purchased and that can happen through consensus. Some brick-kilns will have to be relocated,” Sen said later. “The shipping secretary, too, feels we need an additional port and we hope the agreement will be signed in a month,” Sen added.

A memorandum of understanding had been signed in 2001 between Keventer Agro and the WBIDC. Sen said it lapsed as “certain issues” like “water-sharing between the port trust and the private company and engagement of river pilots to bring ships from sand heads had cropped up”.

The shipping secretary today promised the port trust’s “co-operation”.

The state also wants a deep-sea port. Sen said the government would approach the Centre for approval after finalising its location.


Also read: Anandabazar Report (http://www.anandabazar.com/31raj6.htm)

More good news.
A ravamped Calcutta airport may be on its way 30 months from now :)

Source : TOI Epaper


Centre clears airport revamp
PIB Gives Nod Within Hours Of Buddha Meeting PM
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi/Kolkata: Within hours of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urging him to clear the Kolkata airport modernization plan, the Centre approved the project on Friday.
The public investment board (PIB) gave its nod to the Rs 3,000-crore project, and now only the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs is to put its final stamp of approval. The project is expected to get rolling in a couple of months.
The clearance comes exactly nine months after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) submitted the proposal to the board in August 2007. Recently, aviation minister Praful Patel had accused the Planning Commission of delaying the project. Patel had, in fact, asked the AAI to complete all groundwork so that it is ready to roll by the time all clearances come. The new airport has to be ready by 2011 and already faces a delay of several months because of delayed clearances.
Officials in Kolkata are expecting work to start immediately after the monsoon and complete the first phase within 30 months.
“We are expecting the work to start within two months. Although the project is expected to take two and a half years, we are keen to start flight operations at the new integrated terminal building before the 2010 Asian Games,” a senior airport official said in Kolkata.
The AAI had long ago issued tenders for the two airports and shortlisted several global majors, including Indian giant L&T, for executing the projects.
“These companies have submitted their tenders. Once CCEA gives its approval, we just have to open the tenders and hopefully issue the contract to the selected party by July-end so that work can begin,” a senior official said in Delhi. Airports de Paris, architects of the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, is designing the new airport. Once the first phase of modernization is complete, the airport will have world-class infrastructure to handle 28 million passengers a year, up from the current 6 million.
The PIB clearance was welcomed by airport officials in Kolkata. P K Singhal, executive director (East) of AAI, said, “The modernization project director informed me that the board meeting had cleared the project on Friday. It was important and we are prepared for the modernization work.”

Siddha Group's Xanadu

http://www.xanaduworld.in/

Render

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1200/siddhaxanaduzp1.jpg

Apollo gets Bengal hospital for medical college

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Apollo-gets-Bengal-hospital-for-college/317068/

The West Bengal government will hand over a hospital near Kolkata to Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd for the state's second private medical college and Apollo's first in the country.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, flanked by Apollo Hospitals chairman Prathap C Reddy, said the college would come up on the premises of the 131-bed Sagar Dutta State General Hospital at Kamarhati municipality.

"We have identified the location in Kamarhati Municipality and I have engaged the local MLA to find out the required land," Bhattacharjee said.

The hospital is located on a 23-acre plot, but a teaching hospital will need at least 25 acres under the rules of the Medical Council of India.

Earlier, the state had handed over an almost defunct TB hospital in Jadavpur to a private party, which has set up the KPC Medical College & Hospital.

The state has nine government medical colleges that turn out a total of 1105 MBBS graduates every year.

The Apollo Gleneagles Medical College, expected to be operational in 2009, aims to produce 150 students at the undergraduate level. It will be run by Apollo and Parkway Health, its Singapore-based partner in the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital here.

Suneeta Reddy, the group's executive director for finance, said "The Chief minister has reduced the capital intensity of the public-private-partnership project by giving us the land and an institution that is already running."

The Telegraph 01.06.2008

IBM Research to test waters
- Minister says US computer giant keen on centre


The Thomas J Watson Research Centre of IBM in New York
Calcutta, May 31: IBM Research has shown interest in investing in Bengal, IT minister Debesh Das said today.

The company is one of at least 14 US infotech firms that are expected to explore the state from June onwards.

“Officials at the Thomas J. Watson Research Centre of IBM Research have shown keenness to set up a research and development centre in the state. We are really excited,” Das said at the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce today.

IBM Research, established in 1961, has eight laboratories in six countries and has many Nobel laureates working on its projects. The Watson centre is IBM Research’s headquarters.

“During my visit to the US and the UK this month, I met 30 IT companies in the Silicon Valley and Boston. Not all are coming to India. A few have operations in other states. But more than 14 have expressed keenness to explore investment possibilities in this state,” Das said.

Some of the companies will come to finalise MoUs with local partners.

The Watson centre officials visited Calcutta in April. More visits are expected in the next few months with the Watson lab asking Das’s department to outline a proposal highlighting areas of possible collaboration.

“Although they are interested in supercomputers, we see more synergy in working on silicon chips and solar-based photovoltaic cells,” Das said.

Early last year, Christopher Caine, vice-president of government business at IBM, met chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Das to discuss the company’s engagements in government initiatives.

The areas of interest included partnering the state in the first chip design centre in the city (a Rs 400-crore venture), e-governance, the education sector and IT security applications.

Signet Solar, a US-based silicon photovoltaic cell-maker, is keen to set up a manufacturing facility in the state. It has expanded its production capacity in Chennai. “Such solar-based projects would entail an investment of around Rs 200 crore,” Das said.

There are also companies like UniSolar, which manufactures thin film solar laminates, looking for a joint venture partner in the state.

LED Engine Company, which specialises in new-age lighting technology, has signed an MoU with the Bengal-based Jain Group of industries, Das said.

An American company that provides radio-frequency identification solutions to Walmart will also come to Calcutta to explore the opportunities for a development centre.

The IT department will sign an MoU with Mobidough, which enables bill payment and money transfer through mobiles.

Very nice. But the title of the post i.e. "IBM is coming to kolkatal" is wrong. IBM already has a big presence in kolkata. :)

Very nice. But the title of the post i.e. "IBM is coming to kolkatal" is wrong. IBM already has a big presence in kolkata. :)

Thank you dear SarafIndian. Title has been corrected.

Kolkata gets new ICCR cultural centre (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/kolkata-gets-new-iccr-cultural-centre_10055488.html)


Kolkata, June 2 (IANS) The Rabindranath Tagore Centre, housing multiple galleries, archives on cultural history, seminar rooms, a business centre and library, has been set up here by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to promote art in the country’s eastern region. The centre was inaugurated Sunday by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

“I hope that this centre will become the hub of India’s cultural life and promote meaningful cultural, academic and artistic exchanges not only in eastern India but also neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar,” Mukherjee said at the inaugural ceremony.

Spread over 3442.5 sq metres, the four-storey complex has been set up in Ho Chi Min Sarani.

“The Bengal Gallery will be reserved for exhibitions on loan from West Bengal government, while the Nandalal Bose Gallery, Jamini Roy Gallery and Ramkinkar Baij Sculpture Court have been set up for organising various exhibitions on sculptures, paintings, textiles and handicrafts by popular artists as well as young talents,” said ICCR president Karan Singh.

“The West Bengal government gave this plot of land to ICCR in 1990. However, various obstacles delayed the project by about 18 years. The Rabindranath Tagore Centre is our dream project,” said Bhattacharjee.

“For a long time the city has felt the need for such an art centre. Grand art exhibitions were being held only in metros like Delhi and Mumbai. Despite being the cultural capital of India, Kolkata missed out on these exhibitions due to the lack of a proper art gallery.

“The only art gallery of the city - Abanindranath Pradarshanshala - is not spacious enough for holding big exhibitions. But now Kolkatans too can experience grand art exhibitions. We are also planning a second art gallery at Rajarhat on the outskirts of the city,” the chief minister added.

Traders halt Patipukur underpass project (http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=22&theme=&usrsess=1&id=206190):bash:

KOLKATA, May 30: The construction of an underpass at Patipukur has been stopped following protests from local businessmen backed by a section of CPI-M leaders.
This has happened at a time when the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and the urban development minister, Mr Asok Bhattacharya, have asked the engineers of KMDA to complete projects on time to avoid extra expenditure due to price escalation.
The underpass was proposed to ease traffic congestion along Jessore Road. A meeting to resolve the impasse, failed to yield results as the local businessmen are asking for more money since they are not satisfied with KMDA's compensation package.
The project was planned in 2004 at an estimated cost of Rs 6 crore. Kolkata Improvement Trust was assigned the job. But the agency could not start the project because of lack of expertise and manpower. In 2007, KMDA started the project and by now the estimated cost has gone up to Rs 11 crore.
Senior KMDA officials said, taking lessons from Dum Dum underpass where water logging has become a major problem during monsoon, the underground sewer network in areas surrounding Patipukur underpass has been relayed. Compensation package for the shop keepers was decided on after having discussed with them. He said, as the work has been stalled, it would be difficult to resume work before monsoon.
He said that it has become very difficult to negotiate with local leaders. He pointed out that construction of the proposed flyover that is coming up at Dattabad on EM Bypass was stalled due to intervention of some local CPI-M leaders. KMDA took over four months to resolve the impasse.
He felt that the situation is such that before starting any project there is a need of having a meeting with blocal political leaders so that the deadline could be maintained. “Most of the time the engineers have to convince the local political leaders.” A senior official of the state urban development department said the matter has been taken up with senior CPI-M leaders who are looking into the matter.

Kolkata, Shalimar stations set for upgrade (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata_/Kolkata_Shalimar_stations_set_for_upgrade/articleshow/3078487.cms)

KOLKATA: The railways is planning to develop the Kolkata station at Chitpur into a mega integrated passenger terminal. Shalimar station in Howrah will also be upgraded to an integrated passenger terminal.

This is part of the railways' plan to improve the situation for passengers and streamline the movement of freight in and around Kolkata. Planners have kept in mind the growing demand for a better transport system in the greater Kolkata region in years to come.

The plan will cater to the city's needs till 2030, said officers.They are in the process of appointing a consultant to prepare a final project report after discussions with the state government and other agencies. The consultant is expected to start work by mid-June.

The consultants will give a detailed plan to maximize capacity at Howrah station. Parcel and goods traffic will be moved out to make way for additional suburban services. Measures will also be suggested to ease constraints at yards and optimise line capacity in the chord and main sections between Howrah and Burdwan.

"The Kolkata terminal will be developed by shifting the Chitpur and Cossipore goods yards. All freight yards, including the one at New Alipore, will be shifted to Dankuni. The consultant will also suggest the location of a new goods terminal on the east bank beyond Barasat. South Eastern Railway's goods terminal at Shalimar will also be shifted to Sankrail," a senior officer said.

The consultant will also suggest measures to overcome waterlogging at Chitpur and an alternate route if possible. Discussions will be held with the state government to provide better road connectivity and adequate public transport to the Kolkata terminal. The state will also be consulted to create better connectivity with Shalimar station — not only with Vidyasagar Setu but other link roads as well.

Kolkata laser park won’t be Harry Potter land: Manick Sorcar (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/kolkata-laser-park-wont-be-harry-potter-land-manick-sorcar_10055934.html) :)


Chicago, June 3 (IANS) The world’s first laser park is to come up in Kolkata, according to Manick Sorcar, the US-based son of legendary magician P.C. Sorcar, who says it will offer cutting edge entertainment along with learning opportunities. Manick Sorcar, who lives in Denver, said an agreement for the laser park was being finalised by him and the West Bengal government.

“It will not be a copy of Harry Potter land. My goal is to make it a fun place for the whole family, where they can spend the entire day and evening - having a memorable experience,” Sorcar told IANS in an interview here.

“During the day they can visit art galleries, holograms, planetarium, watch shows in indoor theatres, go shopping for handicrafts, gifts, and cottage industry or simply relax outside in the food courts.

“In the evening they will find themselves in a totally different world surrounded by the magic of synthesised dancing water fountains, three-dimensional laser effects, intelligent lighting, pyrotechnics and live shows - conveying a story that is strictly of our own, relevant to India.

“The ecstasy and thrill will be the same as watching my father’s world famous magic show, except that these are done with laser and other state of the art in lighting made by the students of the laser institute,” Sorcar said.

The proposed ‘laser galaxy’ will be a six-acre laser theme park, with a multi-storey building for the institution, laser art gallery, laboratories, planetarium, hologram display and more in addition to a professional theatre for indoor laser shows, Sorcar said.

Outside, there will be an amphitheatre with seating for 4,500 people, offering a panoramic view of an artificial mountain and trees. The stage will float on a large pond where live performances by 100 artistes can run simultaneously with giant size laser shows on a 150-ft diameter, 65-ft high, peacock-fan water screen and magical three dimensional effects in space.

The mammoth project will be co-produced by the government of West Bengal, according to Sorcar. The bulk of the fund will be raised from private investors, he said.

The park is expected to cost $40 million (about Rs.1.5 billion).

The seeds of this park were planted a year ago in Kolkata where Sorcar proposed the idea to Debesh Das, West Bengal’s minister of information technology.

“The proposal was met with a lot of enthusiasm,” said Sorcar, a two-time winner of the ILDA Artistic Award, considered the ‘Oscar of the laser industry’ and given by the International Laser Display Association.

After a year of planning, Sorcar displayed the architectural plans in progress and made a presentation of the overall concept at a meeting with Das in Phoenix, Arizona. Impressed with the development, Das offered several options in land, including the posh Rajarhat area of Kolkata, where it could be built, Sorcar said.

“The concept is similar to having a medical college and hospital - it will be a centre where students will learn about the theoretical aspects of laser at the institution, and then have the opportunity of applying it in the laboratories, laser art galleries and laser shows”, said Sorcar.

The educational institution will collaborate with the Jadavpur and Calcutta universities where the students of physics, illuminating engineering and architectural engineering, dealing with lighting design, will be able to get a hands-on experience with a wide variety of lasers at the galaxy.

“It will be a paradise for the technical minds wanting to explore the cutting edge technology with a wide variety of lasers in multiple wavelengths ranging from helium-neon to carbon dioxide,” said Sorcar.

Sorcar shot to fame in the early 1990s when his film “Deepa and Rupa: A Fairy Tale From India”, recognised as India’s very first animation mixed with live action, received a host of prestigious awards, including the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival; and his “The Sage and the Mouse” won the Gold Medal at the International Film Festival of New York.

Shifting gear from traditional animation to laser animation in 2005, his production, “The Enlightenment of Buddha”, an extravaganza of live action with life-size laser animation on stage, won first place at the annual contest of the International Laser Display Association and Sorcar received his first ‘artistic award.’

Author of several university texts in lighting design, Sorcar holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering and is full-time chief executive and owner of a highly successful engineering company in Denver, which did the lighting design for Denver International Airport, sport centres in Japan, and palaces for Saudi princes.

Looks like the Dankuni Township project is in trouble, with Didi having opposed it and now her party winning control in the area

DLF town at risk after rural reverses

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080604/jsp/bengal/story_9362768.jsp

The recent rural poll results have put a question mark on the state’s plans for the Rs 40,000-crore Dankuni township to be developed by DLF.

Urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya today said the project could fall through because the composition of the committee meant to fa-cilitate purchase of land for the venture would change after the polls. It will now be Trinamul Congress-dominated.

“There will be a change in the committee with the Opposition winning many panchayat samiti and gram panchayat seats (in the area) and the government will have to convince the panel about the need for the township. If the talks fail, the committee refuses to see reason in our argument, we’ll obviously not use force and the project will fall through,” the minister said.

“The township would have been a boon to everyone. This has to be explained to the people as well as the new procurement committee,” he added.

The project requires about 4,800 acres, of which the government has managed to purchase some 200 acres.

The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority was to have bought the land through the procurement panel and handed it over to the real estate company.

For the Dankuni project, the government did not take the land acquisition route but instead settled for direct purchase through the procurement committee.

The Hooghly district mag-istrate is the convener of the panel that includes three panchayat samiti chiefs and eight gram panchayat pradhans besides the MLAs from Chanditala, Champdani, Uttarpara and Singur.

Trinamul has won two of the three samitis and all eight gram panchayats. Of the four MLAs, three belong to the Left, but Singur is Trinamul’s.

Bhattacharya clarified that the government wouldn’t use force to get the land. “There is no question of forcible purchase of land. We shall try to make the people realise the necessity of the township. If that fails, it would be unfortunate not to be able to carry on with the project.”

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Partha Chatterjee, said the government should come up with a policy on land acquisition. “Let it not be the case of ministers speaking in turns. The government as a whole should announce a transparent acquisition policy on Dankuni and other projects after taking the Opposition into confidence.”

Asked whether the government would convene an all-party meeting to build a consensus, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said: “You will come to know when the time comes.”

A senior DLF official said: “DLF wants invest nearly Rs 40,000 crore in the township. If not allowed, this money will go to some other state.”

“We don’t want to go against the wishes of the people or the government. If the people don’t want us, the company has little choice.”

DLF had agreed to pay Rs 55 lakh an acre for the land. It had won the right to develop the township through an international bidding.

The official said: “Many states are inviting us to set up projects. But we are not going to take any hasty decision or push our case with the (Bengal) government.”

The company had promised one job to each landloser family. “If people do not support (us) even after this, what can be done?” the official asked.

He ruled out the possibility of direct talks with the Opposition parties. “DLF has not received any communication from the state. So we are not going to take any fresh initiative.”

Looks like this still may be a viable project!

RMJM passes £1bn in India (http://business.scotsman.com/industry/RMJM-passes-1bn-in-India.4147777.jp)RMJM, the Edinburgh-based firm of architects, has reached its target to carry out £1 billion worth of construction projects in India and is considering opening a permanent office in Mumbai, formerly Bombay.

The firm is working on 38 projects in India, focused on New Delhi and Kolkata.

RMJM projects include the World Bengal Tower, which will be the tallest building in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta.

RMJM has 17 offices in the UK, US, Middle East and Asia.

The Asian Age 05.06.2008

June 4: Even though the Salim Group`s proposed infrastructure projects in East Medinipur and South 24 Parganas have been put on hold by the state government after the panchayat poll debacles, its motorbike factory unit in Uluberia got a new lease of life. The third largest two-wheeler manufacturing company TVS has joined it as "the technological provider".

After meeting with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Wednesday, managing director of TVS Motors V. Srinivasan said, "In order to strengthen the presence of TVS Motor company in the east, we have entered into a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mahabharat Motors Manufacturing company in the presence of the chief minister."

Industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen said that the TVS will invest $100 million for the project.

In sync with the agreements, the Mahabharat Motors will assemble the agreed products as contract manufacturer. "The products to be manufactured will be agreed in due course. TVS Motor Company will in turn introduce its world-class quality control standards and assembly procedures.

The products will be branded as TVS Star and not "Arjun" as the chief minister had named earlier," said Prasun Mukherjee, co-owner of the Mahabharat and MD of Universal Success. Besides providing technical support to the factory, TVS Motor has also agreed to assist in construction, master planning, factory layout etc.

13 US-based IT firms coming to state

TOI epaper

Over the next six months, there will be an investment of at least Rs 200 crore in the IT sector alone. As many as 13 IT companies from the US have agreed to come to the state in response to an invitation extended to them by the state IT department last month.

State information technology minister Debesh Das had visited the Silicon Valley in the US last month to apprise IT companies of the prevailing situation in West Bengal, which is conducive to the information technology industry.

Despite the bandh called by the Left Front on Thursday, Das went to work and clinched the deal with one such company via a long-distance call. “I had to make the international call to seal the deal. I will not announce the name of this popular IT company yet. But I can tell you that it will be here to hire office space in the next two months. At least 200 people will be employed in this firm,” he said.

“None of these 13 companies, willing to come here, is a BPO. These are software product development companies that have agreed to design softwares here and sell those to users worldwide. The good news is that each of these firms will employ at least 200 people,” he added.

The company that agreed to come here on Thursday is an expert in designing software related to communication.

The new office will come up in Sector V of Salt Lake where the IT firms are located.
Das visited at least 25 IT companies in the US this time. Some of the big names among these are Synopsis, HP, Signet Solar, Motorola, Freescale and IBM Watson Research Laboratories.

City software exports cross $1bn mark

TOI epaper

The city has joined its more illustrious counterparts like Bangalore and Hyderabad in the list of IT destinations having exports of $1-billion and above.

Although the exact figure is still being worked out (some companies are yet to report their exports), data available with sources indicate that exports from the Kolkata software technology park (STP) bridged the $1-billion mark in 2007-08 with exports of nearly Rs 4,150 crore.

Compared to the performance in 2006-07, exports in the last fiscal were almost 28% more. Exports from the Kolkata STP in 2006-07 were valued at Rs 3252.20 crore.

Last two fiscals’ figures don’t take into account the performance of Wipro’s Sector V unit since the local Azim Premji outfit enjoys SEZ recognition and does not come under the STP scheme.

“As the rupee was ranging at 39-41 against the dollar for a large part of 2007-08, the road to the $1-billion export figure was made easier,” sources said.


As always, the trio of TCS, IBM and Cognizant were responsible for pushing exports beyond the magical figure in 2007-08, the sources added. In the last fiscal, TCS recorded exports of Rs 1844.52 crore from the Kolkata STP. IBM and Cognizant posted exports of Rs 557.36 crore and Rs 435.59 crore respectively in 2007-08.


HSBC Electronic Data Processing and Tech Mahindra’s exports from the Kolkata STP during the last fiscal were Rs 278.77 crore and Rs 208.3 crore respectively. The backoffice arm of HSBC Bank and IT outfit of the Mahindra & Mahindra group are the fourth and fifth-biggest exporters from the city respectively.


The sources, however, said that there was no room for complacency as there still existed a vast gap between Kolkata and other established IT hotspots like Bangalore, National Capital Region, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

East-West Metro gets central nod

TOI epaper

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the Rs 4,676-crore East-West Metro project, paving the way for the creation of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC). Work is likely to start in October after land acquisition.

The two terminals of the East-West Metro would be built at Salt Lake Central Park and Howrah Maidan. The trains would be covering a distance of 13.7 km and there would be 12 stations.

The stretch between Howrah and Swabhumi will be underground. From EM Bypass to Sector V, the trains will be plying on elevated tracks. The minimum fare would be Rs 8 and the maximum Rs 15.

The network will also connect Sealdah and Howrah stations. There are even plans to integrate it with the existing (north-south) Metro network between Tollygunge and Dum Dum.

The E-W Metro trains will run below the existing Metro tracks while crossing them near Chittaranjan Avenue. This will have to be done because the existing Metro runs on broad gauge while the new tracks would be standard gauge.

There are plans to run the trains between Sealdah and Salt Lake by 2011, as work on the elevated stretch between Swabhumi and Wipro would begin by January 2009. Work is expected to be completed within 30 months. Right now, 1.7 million passengers use Howrah and 1.5 million passengers use Sealdah. The station at Sealdah would be built in front of the present railway station, while the station at Howrah would be between the old and the new complexes.

According to plan, the proposed KMRC will take over the present Metro management. Principal secretary , Union urban development department, T Ramchandran, will be the chairman and principal secretary of the state transport department, Sumantra Chakraborty, will be the managing director of the KMRC. The corporation has been modelled on the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

KMRC will have six representatives from the state government and six from the Centre. So far, DMRC and RITES have been the consultants for the project. But before construction begins, KMRC has to appoint a consultant through global tendering, said transport minister Subhas Chakraborty.

The Centre will fund 30% of the project cost, while the state government will bear 25%. The rest would be borne by Japan Bank for International Cooperation, chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said.

The state government would provide Rs 1,300 crore as its stake in the project within a period of five years. JBIC has already released Rs 255 crore for the first year till March 2009. The decision-making body of the new Metro corridor will meet on Monday to chalk out the next course of action.

There are even plans to integrate it with the existing (north-south) Metro network between Tollygunge and Dum Dum.

A case of bad reporting ?

A case of bad reporting ?

Probably trying to say that people will be able to change from line 1 to line 2 at Central.

Bengal Peerless Anahita (proposed), New Town

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8976/anahitabengalpeerlesslf3.jpg

Merlin Regency
http://www.merlinprojects.com/kol_apt_regency_pers.html

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/5905/merlinregencyal8.jpg

^^ Both Bengal Peerless & Merlin needs to be twice as tall atleast for Calcutta's sake. Towers too short will take up only space. need to go vertical.

^^ Both Bengal Peerless & Merlin needs to be twice as tall atleast for Calcutta's sake. Towers too short will take up only space. need to go vertical.

Agreed. Designs are good. But, looks too short.

Agreed. Designs are good. But, looks too short.

Do you think FSI can be a factor? Anyone knows whats the current FSI in Cal? I had an idea its around 2. The Govt was willing to make it higher, but didnt get any updates after that.

Business Standard : 08.06.2008

Digitalisation, data and printing management solutions provider Vakrangee Softwares today said it will invest Rs 50 crore to set up two more regional hubs in Kolkata and Chennai and induct 1,000 people in these stations.
The company, which has regional hubs in Mumbai and Delhi at present, intends to cover the entire country with setting up of the two proposed regional hubs.

"We are currently looking for a suitable land in Chennai and Kolkata to set up these hubs. We will invest Rs 50 crore to put up these facilities," Vakarangee Softwares' Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh Nandwana said.
Vakrangee Softwares claims to be one of the pioneers in the country in digitalisation, data and printing management solutions business.

Nandwana said that regional hubs in Kolkata and Chennai would employ 500 persons each and work on the projects would start in the next quarter. The current strength of the company is 1,500.

"By the end of the current fiscal, both these hubs would be operational," he said.

Vakrangee Softwares has already committed an investment of Rs 200 crore during the current fiscal to expand its operations.

Apart from the proposed two hubs, the company would also set up its centralised office in Karjat and already bought 275 acres of land for that.

The firm, which had recorded a net profit of Rs 49.87 crore on Rs 223.8 crore sales in the last fiscal, aims both topline and bottomline growth by 50 per cent in the next three years, he said.:)

Heritage centre on Satyajit Ray to come up in Kolkata (http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/heritage-centre-on-satyajit-ray-to-come-up-in-kolkata_10057907.html)

Kolkata, June 8 (IANS) Late filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s films will be showcased at a heritage centre to be set up here, an official said Sunday. “The idea is to have a centre that will be totally dedicated to Ray and have everything on him. As per our plan, the centre will have a seminar room, an exhibition hall, an auditorium, an archive for storage, preservation and display of Ray’s papers and memorabilia, and a section with digitised version of Ray’s films,” said Sandip Ray, the maestro’s son and a member of the Society for the Preservation of Satyajit Ray’s Films.

Society’s chief executive officer Arup De said Sunday: “We have been collecting, cataloguing and restoring the precious and massive works of Ray over the past decade. These works need to be preserved at a permanent site with appropriate facilities. For example, films are extremely sensitive to temperature and humidity. Hence, we need state-of-the-art vaults to preserve Ray’s films.”

To be built at an estimated cost of Rs.50 million, the society is scouting for an appropriate site in the city.

“We will start working on the project as soon as we get an appropriate piece of land,” De added.

Wipro crossing flyover construction
photo from East Kolkata plus

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8954/flyoverconstructionky3.jpg

TOI (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata_/Wipro_to_set_up_engineering_unit_at_Kharagpur/articleshow/3112296.cms)


9 Jun 2008, 0352 hrs IST,Udit Prasanna Mukherji,TNN

KOLKATA: Rural polls over, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has reasons to smile. First it was the assurance from Antony Salim that his group remains committed to make substantial investment in Bengal. Then comes Wipro’s decision to set up its engineering division in Kharagpur.

According to the MD of WBIDC M V Rao, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIE) will shortly set up its second unit in the country at Kharagpur. Once set up, it will be the world’d fourth unit of WIE.

WIE is one of the finest infrastructure equipment companies in the world. It manufactures precision-engineered hydraulic cylinders and pumps for infrastructure and related industries such as earth-moving and cargo-handling equipment and truck-tippers. It is the second largest independent hydraulic component manufacturer in the world, and has manufacturing facilities in Finland and Sweden. The other Indian unit of WIE is in Bangalore.

"It will set up the facility at the vendors park of Telcon. We have already acquired about 100 acres of land required for the vendors park, which includes space for the Wipro unit," Rao said. According to him, some big names have already showed interest in setting up shop at the vendors park. "There will be 20 units in the vendors park. Following Wipro’s decision, we are getting a good response from the industry," he said.

According to him, Jai Bharat Maruti, one of the component manufacturers of Maruti Suzuki and Tata Ryerson, are also setting up units in the vendors park. "We have already handed over 250 acres to Telcon in Khargapur. It has already started the project work," he said.

It is learnt that some big component manufacturers, including multinationals, might set up shop in Kharagpur.

Incidentally, Telco Construction Equipment Company (Telcon) has proposed to set up an earth-moving manufacturing facility at Kharagpur. When contacted, the Telcon MD Rana Sinha confirmed the development, saying that the Kharagpur facility could be one of the biggest integrated infrastructure equipment projects in the country. Currently, Telcon has two facilities — in Jamshedpur and Dharwad, in Karnataka.

According to Sinha, it will invest Rs 500-600 crore in 2-3 phases in the Khargpur project. "The investment in the vendors park will be in addition to this," he added. The Telcon said that the first phase will be completed by mid-2009. "We shall manufacture different variants of earth-movers in the facility," he said.

Source: TOI EPaper


Biggies make a beeline for tech hub
General Electric And Cisco Interested In Setting Up Facility At San Tech Research Valley
Suman Chakraborti | TNN

Kolkata: A month after software majors Wipro and Infosys decided to set up shop in Rajarhat, global players General Electric (GE) and Cisco have come calling, promising a foreign direct investment of Rs 500 crore.
The two firms will also bring some other brands with them to the proposed San Tech Research Valley, coming up on the fringes of Rajarhat with a Rs 1,000 crore base. It is a knowledge valley project and is being set up by San Tech Communication Inc. — a company floated by US-based NRI Santosh Mukherjee, who is also the managing director of Rosedale Developers that is setting up the country’s first NRI habitat in New Town. The company also has a unit in the United States called San Tech International.
Mukherjee said almost half the total project cost (Rs 500 crore) would be in FDI. The authorities have already started acquiring land that falls under the jurisdiction of Bhangor-Rajarhat Area Development Authority.
“PriceWaterhouse Coopers is conducting a feasibility study for the project,” Mukherjee said, adding that he was in touch with reputable foreign firms like GE and Cisco that have shown interest in coming to the valley. About 35 acre would be required.
State IT minister Debesh Das was very excited about the project. “Mukherjee is setting up the Valley in a big way and many global firms would come down soon,” he said.
Mukherjee said the project has been named ‘Innovations through Convergence’. San Tech has already tied up with IIT, Kharagpur, and National University of Singapore and is talking to several other foreign universities that will assist in conducting research in tele-communications and semi-conductor technologies.
The knowledge valley will comprise three sections — a knowledge park, a resource and development section on telecommunications and a consulting section. “The knowledge park will have state-of-the-art facilities related to IT and telecom. There will be facilities of international standard for conducting research on the emerging technologies such as nano technology. It will also have international standard lab facilities for conducting scientific research. There will also be a three-tier security arrangement to protect the valley where important scientific researches would take place. The Valley would generate employment opportunities for more than 5000 people,” Mukherjee said.
The 35-acre world-class Infrastructure facility near Kolkata airport will be surrounded by other big houses like Infosys, Wipro and IBM, which have already started their operations in Sector-V and New Town.
The Valley will also provide residential facilities with all modern amenities for executives and researchers coming from abroad. The Valley would have in-built communication facilities with high-end broadband connectivity.

Ruchi Group enters into Rs450 cr realty project (http://www.livemint.com/2008/06/10162020/Ruchi-Group-enters-into-Rs450.html)

The project for construction of 796 luxury apartments would have the first sports-based residential condominium and other unique facilities

Ruchi Realty Holdings Pvt Ltd, a venture of the city-based Ruchi group of industries, has embarked on a Rs450-crore real estate project for construction of 796 luxury apartments here.
Ruchi Realty Vice-President Shivam Asthana said today that the project would have the first sports-based residential condominium here and other unique facilities in six towers on 17 acre on the E M Bypass.
The project’s initial work had started and was expected to be completed by December, 2010.
The maximum price of an apartment has been priced at rupees one crore, he said.
Asthana said that other real estate projects undertaken by the company were integrated townships in Bhopal and Indore, besides residential apartments in Mumbai and business hotels in Bhubaneswar, Jamshedpur and Indore.
The Ruchi group’s activities include edible oil, soya products, dairy products, de-oiled cakes, steel, import-export infrastructure and Infotech.

Ruchi Group enters into Rs450 cr realty project (http://www.livemint.com/2008/06/10162020/Ruchi-Group-enters-into-Rs450.html)



From the website:
http://www.ruchirealty.com/

render:

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6479/ruchirealtyacresfj0.jpg

highlights:

Total Land Area of 16.38 acres
Over 80% landscaped open areas
6 Towers of G + 19 each , Total 796 Flats
2BHK(76 nos), 3BHK(474 nos) & 4BHK(246 nos)
Total Construction area of about 17.5 Lacs sqft
6 High Speed Elevators in each tower (4 general & 2 service elevators).
About 50,000 sq ft of commercial area dedicated for daily convenience,
medical shops etc.
Residents club

Purti Flowers
http://www.nkrealtors.com/purti_flowers.html

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/7424/enlargeou1.jpg

Ruchi Realty plans IT SEZ in Bantala (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Ruchi-Realty-plans-IT-SEZ-in-Bantala/321275/)

Ruchi Realty Holdings Ltd, part of the $4-billion Ruchi Group conglomerate, is planning to build an IT special economic zone (SEZ) on 5.5 acres in the Bantala Leather Complex. Ruchi will invest around Rs 200 crore and the project is scheduled to be over in two years.

Shivam Asthana, vice-president of Ruchi Realty, said many IT Companies are interested in the SEZ project. "We see no dearth in demand," he said.

Ruchi Realty has attracted around Rs 200 crore from a US-based private equity firm, Sun Apollo. The money will be utilised in building the SEZ project, said Asthana.

Besides the US private equity investment, promoters of Ruchi Group of Industries, and loan from financial institutions have contributed another Rs 200 crore.

Ruchi also announced its first housing project on 16.5 acres off EM Bypass in Kolkata with a total investment of Rs 450 crore

http://www.psgroup.in/

PS IXL, New Town (near City centre II)

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/1456/psgroupixlrajarhathc6.jpg

Akash, near Ruby Hospital

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1299/akashpsgrouprubyhosprd5.jpg

More from http://www.psgroup.in/

New town Square
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8862/newtownsquareyw3.jpg

Trinity Arcade
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/760/tarcadelb4.jpg

McDonald's plans 15 new outlets in Kolkata (http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=a9ca68d6-d2a8-453d-8370-a770b3d1ecae&&Headline=McDonald's+plans+15+new+outlets+in+Kolkata)

McDonald's India plans to spend Rs.1 billion to open 15 more restaurants in Kolkata over the next three to five years.

Vikram Bakshi, managing director of Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., a partner of McDonald's India (north and east region), said two restaurants would be opened this year.

It opened a 3,700 square feet restaurant Wednesday at Mani Square on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, close to the city's IT hub.

The company is now working on refurbishing its Park Street outlet, its first in Kolkata which was wrecked in a blast last August. McDonald's hopes to open it before Durga Puja, the biggest festival in the region.

"Among the upcoming two outlets, one would be a mall kind and the other would be a drive-through format," Bakshi said.

The company is also conducting detailed study to weigh the business potential of other towns in West Bengal, mostly in business belts such Durgapur, Asansol, Siliguri and Darjeeling.

Bakshi's company manages McDonald's business in northern and eastern India, whereas another partner, Hardcastle Restaurant Pvt. Ltd, takes care of the west and the south.

McDonald's will invest Rs.4 billion over the next three years to expand nationally, of which Rs.1 billion was earmarked for the eastern region, Bakshi said.

It plans to fund the expansion through equity, revenue from operations, and debt.

With a year-on-year growth of 30-35 percent the company plans to double its sales every three years, he said.

how the heck is kolkata all of a sudden getting so many big projects all of a sudden? so many tall buildings

Akash, near Ruby Hospital

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1299/akashpsgrouprubyhosprd5.jpg

Looks good:cheers:. Bypass is well on its way to become a one stop commercial, hotels and retail destination.

http://www.psgroup.in/

PS Glitz
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/1989/glitznl6.jpg

Hind Motors sets Puja date for new model (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080611/jsp/business/story_9393712.jsp)

Calcutta, June 10: Hindustan Motors Ltd (HM) will roll out its new model from the Uttarpara plant during the Durga Puja, which is in October.

The flagship company of the CK Birla group did not give further details but said the model was not likely to be part of its Mitsubishi alliance under which it produced the Ambassador and passenger cars from its Chennai unit for the Japanese conglomerate .

“We hope to launch the vehicle during the Durga Puja. It will be rolled out from our Uttarpara plant. We expect it to significantly increase our market share,” said Ravi Santhanam, managing director of HM. Santhanam declined to comment on the model or platform of the vehicle, saying the project could involve technology collaborations.

The auto major is working on an auto gas or LPG version of the Ambassador before the Pujas. HM, which currently sells around 12,000 cars a year, is also looking to introduce the Mitsubishi SUV Outlander by September from the Chennai facility. HM is keen on supplying components for the Nano project in Singur from its Uttarpara plant.

“We supply through our castings, forgings and stamping brand to almost all national and a few global original equipment manufacturers” said Moloy Chowdhury, executive vice-president of HM

http://www.anandabazar.com/12cal01.jpg

Guys, beautification work is going on at BBD bag. This is a photo from anandabazar. (http://www.anandabazar.com/calcutta.htm)

McDonald's India plans to spend Rs.1 billion to open 15 more restaurants in Kolkata over the next three to five years.

Vikram Bakshi, managing director of Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. Ltd., a partner of McDonald's India (north and east region), said two restaurants would be opened this year.

It opened a 3,700 square feet restaurant Wednesday at Mani Square on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, close to the city's IT hub.

The company is now working on refurbishing its Park Street outlet, its first in Kolkata which was wrecked in a blast last August. McDonald's hopes to open it before Durga Puja, the biggest festival in the region.

"Among the upcoming two outlets, one would be a mall kind and the other would be a drive-through format," Bakshi said.

The company is also conducting detailed study to weigh the business potential of other towns in West Bengal, mostly in business belts such Durgapur, Asansol, Siliguri and Darjeeling.

Bakshi's company manages McDonald's business in northern and eastern India, whereas another partner, Hardcastle Restaurant Pvt. Ltd, takes care of the west and the south.

McDonald's will invest Rs.4 billion over the next three years to expand nationally, of which Rs.1 billion was earmarked for the eastern region, Bakshi said.

It plans to fund the expansion through equity, revenue from operations, and debt.

With a year-on-year growth of 30-35 percent the company plans to double its sales every three years, he said.


http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=a9ca68d6-d2a8-453d-8370-a770b3d1ecae&&Headline=McDonald's+plans+15+new+outlets+in+Kolkata

Theme park for Kolkata..
and the main problem seems to be solved already :banana:

Source: TOI EPaper


Get set for Mini Wonderworld
Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN

Kolkata: Kids rejoice, the whole world will soon be at your feet. Or at least the major ‘wonders’ — in miniature form.
The state tourism department is about to clinch a deal with a China Town-based infrastructure company for creating India’s first miniature park off EM Bypass. Scale models of some of the most recognized landmarks across the world — from the Colloseum to the Statue of Liberty and the Big Ben to Taj Mahal — will find space here. Two firms from Singapore and Bangkok are keen to be the FDI partner in the Rs 300-crore project.
Kolkata has its own share of theme and water parks, but the miniature world will be unlike anything the city — or even the country — has seen. Tourism minister Manab Mukherjee told TOI, “We are very keen on the project and are progressing with it with a lot of enthusiasm. The country doesn’t have anteing like this.”
Robert Lee, CMD of Greentech Infrastructure Development Private Limited, who will meet the minister on Thursday for further talks on the project, said: “Miniature World will be a major tourist attraction in this part of the country. It will feature scale models of wonders like Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall and Taj Mahal.”
The park will also unveil to visitors India’s historical, architectural and cultural heritage. Such miniature parks vary in size from the massive “Mini Europe” in Belgium and “Modurodam” in Holland which feature hundreds of international and national landmark buildings, down to the tiny “model villages” of the likes of Bekonscot in UK and “Klien Erzebirge” in Germany, Miniature World in Shenzan China.
The one in Kolkata will come up on 200 acres already purchased by Greentech Infrastructure. It will be a public-private-partnership (PPP) project. “Greentech is getting us the FDI partner. The state tourism department will be an equity partner as well. The profit generated will be distributed among the three parties,” said CPM MP Sudhanshu Seal, who will be present in Thursday’s meeting at Writers’.
Said Lee, “The park will be built by companies who have had the right expertise. In fact, one of the firms we are talking to has already made one such park in Dubai. But we are more keen on those who have made China’s theme park, which is the biggest in Asia as it covers 100 acres.” Echoed Arun Hazra, also associated with the project, Kolkata’s miniature park would be “very big”. “200 acres is a lot of land. And our target will be visitors across the country. The theme park will become one of the city’s most important tourist attractions, thanks to its originality and the perfection,” he felt.
Hazra added, “We aim to capture Indian cinema and television makers as well. A visitor will take at least 12 hours to go through the entire park.”
Most miniature parks are built to a consistent scale; varying from 1:72 as used by Miniature World in Canada, up to the 1:9 scale of Wimborne Model Town, UK. Mainland Europe and Asia mostly use the metric scale of 1:25, while North America, Australia, New Zealand and UK’s parks have been based upon 1:12 and imperial measurement scales.
Seal said, “The project — once it begins — is likely to be completed in a year. We shall start the work as soon as the final deal is inked with the FDI partner.” The park will also feature exhibits on display, model railways, rivers and roads and indoor facilities where artificial deserts or glaciers may be recreated. Rigorous landscaping will be done. For instance, the Statue of Liberty of the US or the Colloseum of Rome will be surrounded by flowers, grass and bonsai, normally interspersed with games and exclusive attractions. “These will be added attractions for children who will be our main target audience,” said Lee.
Get ready to make a great family trip where fun is combined with knowledge.

Source: TOIEPaper


Lake Mall to be unveiled next year
Debamoy Ghosh | TNN

Kolkata: Lake Market is all set to get a new look. The Rs 60-crore Lake Mall, to be developed on the public private partnership (PPP) model by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Venkatesh Foundation, will be unveiled early 2009 to transform the much decaying Lake Market into an organised retail-social rendezvous.
Lake Market is the first civic market to be handed over by KMC to a private realtor for redevelopment. The Lake Market revival project deal was inked by former mayor Subrata Mukherjee with Venkatesh Foundation.
Deputy Mayor Kalyan Mukherjee said KMC now wants to refurbish all the old markets of the city. “We are inviting private initiatives to work on a joint venture basis,” he said.
The mall will have a fourscreen multiplex, a 40,000-sqft Big Bazaar as anchor, a two-level outlet of apparel chain Globus, speciality dining and fresh vegetables, fish and meat in a cleaner, formatted ambience. Around 250 of the 300-odd shop-owners will be rehabilitated on the ground level and the rest, who want to leave, are being compensated, said Venkatesh Foundation director Piyush Bhagat.
The mall would be a G+6 structure, with a floor-plate of 33,000 sq ft on each level. The ground level will remain an open market, to be catered by the existing shop-owners.
Big Bazaar will take up space on the first and second levels, and Globus on the second and third, across 10,000 sq ft. The mall will also house shoe brands like Reebok and Adidas, besides popular brands like Archies, Turtle and Rolex Opticals.
Talks are on with Fun Republic from the Zee TV group to operate the cineplex on the fifth floor that will share the floor-plate with two speciality restaurants. A 13,000-sq ft food court on the fourth level will be franchised to Hangout, a brand of the Ambuja Realty group. But negotiation talks are still on. The foundation will hand over 10,000 sq ft inside the complex, where a citizens’ service centre is being planned.
The mall, being designed by J P Agrawal, will have a seismic zone III-compliant RCC frame structure, glass-and-aluminium façade with colourful panels on all four sides, colonial-style interiors, foyer with granite flooring and a large freight lift from the basement to all the floors.
The Rs 60-cr Lake Mall will have a G+6 structure
Ground floor: Open market for fresh produce, fish and meat to be catered by the existing shop-owners
First & second floors: Big Bazaar
Second & third floors: Apparel chain Globus
Fourth floor: A 13,000-sq ft food court. It may be franchised to Hangout, a brand of the Ambuja Realty group. Talks are still on
Fifth floor: Two speciality restaurants apart from a four-screen cineplex, which may be operated by Fun Republic. Talks are still on
The mall will also house shoe brands like Reebok and Adidas, besides popular brands like Archies, Turtle and Rolex Opticals

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1013/getimagedllqd3.jpg

Theme park for Kolkata..
and the main problem seems to be solved already :banana:

Source: TOI EPaper

^^200 acres in a prime location !!:cheers: Great News. This will be one project to closely watch out for.

Source: TOIEPaper

^^Guess this the first of the KMC markets to be given a makeover? Wonder whats happening with the others.

^^Guess this the first of the KMC markets to be given a makeover? Wonder whats happening with the others.

The market(Lake) is almost completed. Isn't it? Construction work is going for a long time(nearly 2 years).

Houses Sigree (amazing Kebabs) and BMW.

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/8183/dscf4907bo1.jpg

http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/2448/dscf5366ou8.jpg

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/5166/dscf5369vq1.jpg

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/2136/dscf4864cy4.jpg

Dear Vegchop, Thanks for so many nice pictures.

Please post these pictures in Kolkata cityscape thread.

If you get a chance, please take and upload some of the latest pictures of Uniworld project including the 41f Unitech Air

Samrat, I unsuccessfully tried looking for Cityscapes. Can you post the link please? Thanks.

Before anyone notices... its Spring Arcade and not Sping Arcade as it says now. (and I don't know how to edit titles)

Go to advance and then make corrections and before you save, go to preview to see the changes and when satisfied, click save

Vegchop, since you're posting your own images, please utilize the Kolkata Shots May '08 thread that you had made. It has been shifted to the Showcase gallery (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=544).

Waiting to see more of your images :)

Got it. Thanks Samrat! Oh the link to Cityscapes...do you have it? I understood these pics would fall under this 'Kolkata Project Update' folder. Wrong am I?

Vegchop you can use your showcase gallery thread for all your photos

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=630549

You can add the project photos to this thread

And the link to the cityscape thread

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=436029

Houses Sigree (amazing Kebabs) and BMW.



It is interesting to see that illegal encroachments blessed by Didi and Dada parties are now getting advertisements as well!

Some magnificent photos again VegChop. :banana:

Thanks a lot..

:cheers:

Kolkata, Jun 12 Videocon Industries Ltd chairman Venugopal Dhoot on Thursday iterated his plans to invest Rs 8,000 crore in West Bengal's information technology sector and a solar power plant, in addition to the Rs 15,000 crore already promised last October in a 3 million tonne steel plant in the Asansol-Durgapur belt of Burdwan district.

Dhoot said his group would invest a total of Rs 6,000 crore in two knowledge parks --- one in Siliguri in north Bengal and the other in Kalyani to the north of Kolkata, Rs 500 crore in an IT special economic zone (SEZ) in Siliguri, Rs 1,000 crore on an IT park in Kolkata and Rs 500 crore on a 20mw solar power project in either Bankura or Purulia.

The IT SEZ in Siliguri will house a voice-based BPO and will have IT services to serve Videocon's own corporate needs, and will employ 500 people in the first phase.

The 20mw solar power project, the only new initiative announced today by Dhoot, will require an investment of Rs 500 crore.

Dhoot met chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Thursday to discuss his projects.

"The chief minister enquired about how many people have already been employed and how many would be in future," said Dhoot.

According to Dhoot, the chief minister wanted to know whether Videocon is facing any problem in the operations of the two factories in Kolkata that assemble television and computer parts.

Dhoot said Videocon has started acquiring the 4000 acres required for the steel plant. "We are waiting for allocation of coal blocks from the central government to start the project. Iron ore is no issue as we have our captive mines and will buy directly," Dhoot said.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Dhoot-details-IT-outlay/322181/

^^ Videocon promised Rs.22000 Cr of investment in Bengal previously. Now they announce 6000 Cr more for some new IT and knowledge park/SEZ in Kolkata, Siliguri, Kalyani etc. They are interested also in making the proposed deep sea port and one airport at kancharapara..

http://www.anandabazar.com/13bus1.htm

Thanks Suncity I will do that. I realize one of my Mani Sqaure postings has gone missing from this thread. Any idea how that might have happened?


Vegchop you can use your showcase gallery thread for all your photos

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=630549

You can add the project photos to this thread

And the link to the cityscape thread

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=436029



It is interesting to see that illegal encroachments blessed by Didi and Dada parties are now getting advertisements as well!

dear Vegchop,

by the time you asked me about the Kolkata cityscape thread, I had logged off.

Since suncity has already guided you suitably, I can add that you can also find the Kolkata cityscapes at the bottom of this thread(just go scrolling down and you will find under "Similar Threads"). thanks :cheers:

It is interesting to see that illegal encroachments blessed by Didi and Dada parties are now getting advertisements as well!

The mall does not look complete, they should also be developing the space in front of it to provide organized parking space. Hopefully the encroachments should go by then.

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/2136/dscf4864cy4.jpg

^^Cool updates, Vegchop:cheers:. Is the parking lot open?

The market(Lake) is almost completed. Isn't it? Construction work is going for a long time(nearly 2 years).

^^You are right, it was perhaps the first to take off but only the facade seems complete. On a related note just wondering the impact of this development on the hundreds of squatters selling their produce on both sides of Lake market on the sidewalks and also on the streets.

Arijeeb,

I beleive its open now. I took these pics in May during my visit. Mani Square I hear is now open with McDonald's as one of the anchor vendors.

Guys, found this interesting article about FSI in Kolkata getting relaxed. From a meager 1 to 1.5 Govt is planning to raise it to 2.5 now. :cheers:

But its still below other Indian cities like Mumbai and Delhi/NCR where its around 3.5 to 4.

Hopefully they will relax it further near New Town / Rajarhat area, and we can see some height comparable to other Indian and Asian cities. But proximity to airport can be an issue.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080606/jsp/propertt/story_9373119.jsp

Arijeeb,

I beleive its open now. I took these pics in May during my visit. Mani Square I hear is now open with McDonald's as one of the anchor vendors.

^^Yes, it opened earlier this month with Mcdonalds occupying large space right in the front.

TOI : 15.06.2008

E-W Metro corridor may be the next tourist attraction


KOLKATA: The East-West Metro railway corridor may emerge as a tourism destination in itself. It will have four landmark stations and two high-capacity stations of international standards, which will stand apart for their architectural marvel and thematic design.

"A lot of tourists will come only to see these stations," said a senior transport department official. Officials from the department recently met some leading architects of the country for the design of the landmark stations.

The stations at Salt Lake stadium, City Centre, Karunamoyee and Sector V will be the new icons of the city. "These four places have some unique features. For example, the Salt Lake Stadium station will have a sports complex at one side and the Swabhumi Heritage Park and Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals on the other. So, the station will reflect these features," said chief traffic transportation engineer B K Sadhu.

Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) will engage international firms to design and construct its Howrah and Sealdah stations. These two points are very important as a huge volume of passenger traffic will shift from the surface railway to the underground railway network.

The depth of the Metro tunnel would equal the height of a 10-storey building. So, it will have escalators at different levels, apart from staircases. A challenging construction for technologists, the corridor will be the first in the country to run below a river.

The transport department, the nodal agency for the project, wants to steer clear of certain hurdles before construction work begins. And, land acquisition is a key hurdle. The department has decided to build an eight-storey building on a plot of Calcutta State Transport Corporation, now used as a garbage dump. Traders displaced from land acquired for the project would be rehabilitated in a part of the building while the rest of it might house the KMRC office.

The state government will start work on the elevated portion from the Salt Lake-end by October. RITES are close to completing the detailed project report, which estimates the cost to be around Rs 3,349 crore. It wants to engage Delhi Metro Rail Corporation as the probe consultant of their report. Designing and drawing is the next stage.

Significantly, construction of the Metro corridor will not disrupt life on the surface though 70% of it would run underground. This is because machines will be used to bore the tunnel without obstruction on the surface. "The part of the tunnel from Howrah Maidan to Eastern Metropolitan Bypass as well as the part that will run underwater, through the Ganga, will be an engineering marvel," said a senior transport department engineer. :)

Project to resurrect Kolkata Silver Mint (http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/14/stories/2008061450981300.htm)

KOLKATA: The Union Finance Ministry has taken up a Rs. 148.47-crore adaptive reuse project along with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to restore one of the oldest mints in the country.

Set up in 1824 and spread over 12.5 acres, the Kolkata Silver Mint has been lying in neglect since 1952 when production ceased.

With branches sprouting from the roof and plaster peeling off the walls, the Doric columns stand mute witnesses to a once-upon-a-time glorious past when around 3,00,000 to 6,00,000 silver coins were manufactured daily. Coins in gold, copper and bronze were also made here. Besides, there were facilities for manufacturing medals.

All this is to change now. To come up on the premises will be a mint museum, an Indology centre, a heritage hotel and a retail-edutainment corner.

Governor’s interest


West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, along with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has taken special interest in the resurrection of the 180-year-old building, which now acts as a storehouse of old machinery and houses a battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

There are eight structures in the compound and each has been earmarked for a new role. The Silver Mint, the façade of which was modelled on the Temple of Minerva in Athens, will house the museum that will showcase artefacts such as coins, notes, machinery and medals.

An archive and a centre for Indian cultural studies are to be set up at the mint master’s quarters.

The copper mint will house a convention centre and the CRPF quarters a retail-edutainment- performing arts centre.

A heritage hotel will come up at the Red Building and the Yellow Building – joined together by a footbridge. And, a banquet hall and an ethnic food court are planned at the site of the erstwhile warehouse.
INTACH report


“INTACH had prepared a project report on restoring and renovating the national property back in 1987, much before the KMC gave it a heritage status,” said G.M.Kapur, convener of INTACH, Kolkata and West Bengal.

The KMC’s Heritage Committee has given its nod for the project that is expected to be finished before the Commonwealth Games 2010.

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited (IL&FS), appointed by the Finance Ministry, has drawn up a detailed plan for the restoration process.

“We are trying for compatible development - leaving untouched as much of the old structure as possible in the process of re-doing the place,” said an IL&FS official.

TOI : 15.06.2008

E-W Metro corridor may be the next tourist attraction


KOLKATA: The East-West Metro railway corridor may emerge as a tourism destination in itself. It will have four landmark stations and two high-capacity stations of international standards, which will stand apart for their architectural marvel and thematic design.

"A lot of tourists will come only to see these stations," said a senior transport department official. Officials from the department recently met some leading architects of the country for the design of the landmark stations.

The stations at Salt Lake stadium, City Centre, Karunamoyee and Sector V will be the new icons of the city. "These four places have some unique features. For example, the Salt Lake Stadium station will have a sports complex at one side and the Swabhumi Heritage Park and Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals on the other. So, the station will reflect these features," said chief traffic transportation engineer B K Sadhu.

Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) will engage international firms to design and construct its Howrah and Sealdah stations. These two points are very important as a huge volume of passenger traffic will shift from the surface railway to the underground railway network.

The depth of the Metro tunnel would equal the height of a 10-storey building. So, it will have escalators at different levels, apart from staircases. A challenging construction for technologists, the corridor will be the first in the country to run below a river.

The transport department, the nodal agency for the project, wants to steer clear of certain hurdles before construction work begins. And, land acquisition is a key hurdle. The department has decided to build an eight-storey building on a plot of Calcutta State Transport Corporation, now used as a garbage dump. Traders displaced from land acquired for the project would be rehabilitated in a part of the building while the rest of it might house the KMRC office.

The state government will start work on the elevated portion from the Salt Lake-end by October. RITES are close to completing the detailed project report, which estimates the cost to be around Rs 3,349 crore. It wants to engage Delhi Metro Rail Corporation as the probe consultant of their report. Designing and drawing is the next stage.

Significantly, construction of the Metro corridor will not disrupt life on the surface though 70% of it would run underground. This is because machines will be used to bore the tunnel without obstruction on the surface. "The part of the tunnel from Howrah Maidan to Eastern Metropolitan Bypass as well as the part that will run underwater, through the Ganga, will be an engineering marvel," said a senior transport department engineer. :)


Hey Samrat - please post all news and updates w.r.t kolkata's rail transit systems here (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=612876). Separate threads have been created to segregate important projects from the rest.:)

Why not taller?

:ohno:

DLF IT Park II details from their website:

Tower 1A - G+3 - 381,600 sq.ft.
Tower 1B - G+11 - 231,700 sq.ft.
Tower 1C - G+11 - 264,000 sq.ft.
Tower 1D - G+3 - 88,260 sq.ft.
Tower 2 - G+11 - 485,358 sq.ft.
Tower 3 - G+11 - 450,432 sq.ft.
Tower 4 - G+11 - 464,306 sq.ft.

Render

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/8874/dlfitepark2sug6.jpg

Layout:

http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/7752/dlfsiteplanitparkiikolkog4.jpg

Details:

http://www.dlf.in/wps/portal/offices?jspName=dlf_itparkII_kolkata/overview.jsp

http://www.dlf.in/wps/DLFpdfs/DLF_offices/brochure_itparkIIkolkota.pdf

Construction photo - by ArijeetB

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6347/dlfitpark2arijeetb2pt2.jpg

^^There seems to be a marked improvement in terms of open green spaces when compared to the first DLF IT park. The height could have been more ( maybe ~20flr) and then they could have left even more open spaces.

By end of 2010 when Infospace next to it is also complete a section of the road of 3/4th of a km will be all glass n glitter:cheers:

By end of 2010 when Infospace next to it is also complete a section of the road of 3/4th of a km will be all glass n glitter:cheers:


Yes

Unitech Infospace photo by ArijeetB

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/1854/unitechinfosspacearijeenb8.jpg

:banana:

RMZ /Ambuja Ecospace, New Town

1
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8194/rmzecospacefz4.jpg

2
http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/3808/ecospace20kolkata1ta0.jpg

^^Great news:). RMZ's maiden entry into Kolkata looks promising. Some of their commercial buildings in Blore are spectacular, expecting the same here.

IU and Vibs went to a property fair in NJ...

Looks like Kolkata West is now Nirvana Country

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4752/dscn8722cj1.jpg

[QUOTE=Suncity;21766779]IU and Vibs went to a property fair in NJ...

Looks like Kolkata West is now Nirvana Country

^^ Yes, I read about their visit to the property fair. The name Nirvana Country sounds original.

A mall cum residential tower project on Gurusaday Dutta Rd opposite to Mainland China

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4144/gduttardpd2.jpg

City Center 2 @ New Town

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5948/citycenter2jk1.jpg

Can someone identify this? It is right after Suncity apts @ Ultadanga

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/7056/merlinlakeviewyh9.jpg

Can someone identify this? It is right after Suncity apts @ Ultadanga

http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/7056/merlinlakeviewyh9.jpg

Maybe this?

http://www.merlinprojects.com/kol_apt_ulta_pers.html

A mall cum residential tower project on Gurusaday Dutta Rd opposite to Mainland China

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4144/gduttardpd2.jpg

Astral
http://www.hrg-india.com/astral.html

Atria
http://www.hrg-india.com/atria.html

[QUOTE=Suncity;21781232]Maybe this?

http://www.merlinprojects.com/kol_apt_ulta_pers.html

I also thought this was Merlin Lake view but according to http://wikimapia.org/#lat=22.5906058&lon=88.392992&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2 it should be next to the railway tracks and across the road from Merlin Natural view.

I also thought this was Merlin Lake view but according to http://wikimapia.org/#lat=22.5906058&lon=88.392992&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2 it should be next to the railway tracks and across the road from Merlin Natural view.

Then it is Northern Heights

http://sanjjogproperties.com/project_nh.htm

Source: Times of India

Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN

Kolkata: The state government has come to the aid of the private firm which will build the Ring Road around the city. It has decided to tag the project under a scheme which will enable the Centre to bear part of the cost.
Otherwise, the private firm would have had to bear the entire cost itself.
The state transport department has decided to tag the Ring Road project under the ‘viability gap funding’ scheme. This means that the Centre will be able to disburse funds under the head of cost of replacing utilities that are mandatory while implementing the project. Sources at Writers’ Buildings said that if the total project cost turns out to be Rs 4,500 crore, some Rs 1,200 crore would be generated from Central funds alone. The transport department has also extended the deadline for submitting tenders by the infrastructure companies from June 20 to July 31.
“By sharing the project cost, the private company would have to pay less. If they pay less, the public too has to pay less in terms of toll,” said a senior transport department official.
Seven companies — Tantia, Srei, Larsen & Toubro, the Bangkok-based Italian-Thai Development Public Company, the Hyderabad-based Nabojog Engineering Company, Hindusthan Construction Company and Gammon Infrastructure Private Limited — have been shortlisted for the final tenders.
The official said: “We are trying to tag the project under the ‘viability gap funding’ scheme, through which we can get funds from the Centre. We’ll have to explain how we’d shoulder the cost of replacing or removing utility services (such as telephone lines, tram lines, drainage and sewerage lines) which come in the way of the project’s implementation.”
A financial and feasibly study of the project will have to be prepared. “We’ll be able to send fresh financial details by the end of this month,” the official said. The official said sending the proposal to the Centre for sanctions under the scheme is perhaps the only option because the state treasury, already struggling with the limitations of the plan budget, could not share costs.
“We are buying time to prepare the proposal all over again so that we could seek funds under viability gap funding,” said transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury.

ROAD MAP

The Ring Road is expected to solve traffic problems in many parts of the city LENGTH: 42km

TO PASS THROUGH


Rajarhat

Dum Dum airport

Chitpore

Bagbazar

B T Road

Tollygunge

Dhakuria

Alipore

COMPANIES IN FRAY

Tantia

Srei

Larsen & Toubro

Italian-Thai Development Public Company

Nabojog Engineering Company

Hindusthan Construction Company l Gammon Infrastructure Private Limited

Source: Times of India

Ajanta Chakraborty | TNN

Kolkata: The state government has come to the aid of the private firm which will build the Ring Road around the city. It has decided to tag the project under a scheme which will enable the Centre to bear part of the cost.


What if the centre doesn't agree with the state's proposal?

The ring road proposal doesn't sound too convincing yet. Hopefully it is not a scheme to spend money on 'feasabilty' studies that gather dust.

Then it is Northern Heights

http://sanjjogproperties.com/project_nh.htm

^^Looks good, Sun:) Utilizing the 1st 2 levels for commercial purposes saves a lot of space for this amount of land area.

Can someone identify this? It is right after Suncity apts @ Ultadanga



The building is so narrow man, It looks like a matchbox.

Looks like some serious foundation work.
Complete set of pics here
http://www.rosedalenri.com/project_update.htm

I wish they left some green between projects.

http://www.rosedalenri.com/images/Construction_photos/Basement_001.jpg

Mani Square opend its door (http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/City-gets-its-first-global-supermall/324339/)

Kolkata, June 17 The first global supermall in eastern India, Mani Square, opened its door to Kolkatans on Tuesday. The mall, which is located on EM Bypass next to Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, boasts an IMX movie theatre and a host of new brands like Amoeba, Scary House, Costa Coffee and Etam.
According to Lou Armstrong, CEO, Mani Square Limited, there are 21 new shops in the mall that have no other outlets in Kolkata. In collaboration with Friends 91.9 FM, the mall has also established its own radio station. Mani Square is built over an area of 700,000 sq ft with 150 retail shops and a parking space for 1,500 vehicles.

Created by Design International, Toronto, the project value of the mall is Rs 520 crore that has exceeded its initial budget by 20 per cent.

“The launch, which was earlier expected to be in December 2007, got delayed as it took more time to convince the municipal authorities over the complicated structure of the IMX theatre, said Subesh Ray, marketing head, Mani Square.

“Mani Group has planned to build sky bridges and a sky bazaar, said CEO, Mani Group. The group is also planning to expand its business in Jaipur, Durgapur, Siliguri and Bhubaneswar in the next four years.


Source: Times of India

Kolkata to get first AC skybridges across Bypass

Kolkata: Come Christmas and the city will boast of its first air-conditioned skybridge.
Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) has permitted the Sanjay Jhunjhunwala-led Mani Group to build the twin skybridges across EM Bypass, linking the footpaths on the eastern and western sides of the road to allow visitors to the Mani Square mall to cross the road without disrupting traffic on the busy expressway.
“Once the mall is fully functional by mid-August, we expect a high footfall. A substantial chunk of visitors will use public transport. The skybridges will help them cross the Bypass safely,” said Mani Square COO Lou Armstrong.
The group will develop two AC skybridges by the year-end at a cost of Rs 4 crore. Mani Group has approached Canadian architect firm Mark Marshal to design the steel-andglass skybridges so that they blend with the mall. Mark Marshal has designed the Mani Square mall too. The structure will be at least 10 metre above the Bypass, with four escalators on either side.
The group will also spend Rs 1 crore to develop the service road, entry and exit points for vehicles and beautification of the island between the Bypass and the service road.
Incidentally, the skybridge is the second unusual permission that the mall has bagged from a government agency. Earlier, Kolkata Municipal Corporation had granted it permission to create a five-level parking lot for use by both visitors to Mani Square and others in need of parking space.
Though Jhunjhunwala had committed to charge reasonable parking fee, the rates being levied are exorbitant. It allows free parking for 20 minutes, Rs 15 for one hour, Rs 25 for two, Rs 50 for three, Rs 100 for four and Rs 200 for five hours and above. The mall authorities claimed they have slashed the four hour slab of Rs 100, thereby charging Rs 50 for the first three to five hours and then Rs 200 for those exceeding five hours.
“It is the cheapest parking rate in the city,” Mani Group senior vice-president (marketing) Subesh Roy said, despite the statistics pointing otherwise.

ABOVE THE REST

The twin AC skybridges, the first in the city, will come up by this year-end

It will link the footpaths on the eastern and western sides of EM Bypass, mainly for the use of visitors to the Mani Square Mall



The twin bridges will cost Rs 4 crore

Canadian architect firm Mark Marshal has been approached to design the steel-andglass skybridges

Kolkata’s new tourist draw: A morning cruise on the Ganga (http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Kolkatas-new-tourist-draw-A-morning-cruise-on-the-Ganga/324333/)

Kolkata, June 17 A luxury cruise, sumptuous lunch served on the deck and a well-informed tour guide to narrate the glorious times the city has seen. But the river is not Seine and the city is not Paris. Kolkata’s water surface transportation is all set to undergo a radical change — with the launch of the day cruise service by Vivadha Cruises on Wednesday.
The cruises will ply on the Ganga from 8 am to 2 pm every day. Vivadha will use its two double-deck vessels — MV Ahalya with a seating capacity of 100 and MV Millenium with a seating capacity of 50 — for the day trips.

The trip will begin from Millennium Park Ghat and terminate in Bandel. The shore sights will include Belur Math, Botanical Gardens and Bandel Church.

“We were getting queries about day trips for sometime now and have finally decided to start them,” said R Sushila, executive director, Vivadha Inland Waterways Limited (VIWL).

At a cost of Rs 1,000 per head, the trip includes breakfast and a traditional Bengali lunch. Bookings can be made at the Millennium Ghat on a first-come first-serve basis. “Whether we have just two people or 20, the quality will certainly remain the same,” said Sushila.

A three-nights and four-day trip cruise service from Kolkata to Azimganj in Murshidabad is to be launched by November. Vivadha Cruises already operate in the Sunderbans with trips of a similar duration. “Since December, we have been using the vessel MV Paramahansa, which has 32 luxurious rooms, for the trips to Sunderbans. The occupancy has been around 35 per cent so far,” said Sushila. The package is priced at Rs 35,000 per person.

“We had introduced ferry services to various ghats for the convenience of everyday commuters way back in 1980. Today we are happy to see people explore Ganga as a tourist destination,” said A K Bose, Chairman, West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC). Vivadha has a tie-up with WBSTC and has a cruise leased from them. It also has a strategic tie-up with the forest department for the tours to Sunderbans.

Photo source:

Photographs By: Koushik Sarkar from http://www.ilovekolkata.in/content/section/48/1889?cat=96&p=0&pos=

Don't know where. May be Tollygunje tram line work
http://images.ilovekolkata.in/rwx_gallery/newroad_2.jpg

Pipeline is to be laid underneath.
http://images.ilovekolkata.in/rwx_gallery/newroad_4.jpg

Mani Square Pictures

source: http://www.ilovekolkata.in/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,587/

http://images.ilovekolkata.in/rwx_gallery/mall_18_1.jpg

http://images.ilovekolkata.in/rwx_gallery/mall_18_2.jpg

http://images.ilovekolkata.in/rwx_gallery/mall_18_3.jpg

http://images.ilovekolkata.in/rwx_gallery/mall_18_6.jpg

:bash: Cost of delaying project...

From TOI EPaper Friday 20th June.

The East-West Metro project has taken off, but the light rail transit (LRT) project, that will complement it, is stuck in a quagmire of inflation and red-tape. The delay in starting the project has meant that the cost has shot up by leaps and bounds.
If the original cost of the project was Rs 3,200 crore, it now stands at Rs 4,500 crore, thanks to inflation and, consequently, the rise in cement and steel prices. It’s likely to increase further if the rate of inflation persists. This is certainly not music to the developers’ ears — especially after the government earlier decided to transfer the entire project cost to the private partner on a build-operate-transfer basis.
But there’s hope yet for the developers. The state government, desperate to get the project rolling, is making a lastditch effort to tag the project under the Centre’s ‘viability gap’ funding. If it is successful, the Centre will chip in with funds, and the developers will have to pay Rs 3,500 crore.
Czech firm Amex Corporation and the German Siemens have been selected to provide the technology. An alignment between Joka and Panihati has been chalked out in the first phase of work.
But that’s about the only headway made. For the last year and a half, the government has been confidently announcing that the LRT project will be kick-started in six months. In January this year, chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb made a similar statement. Going by this, bids should have been invited this month. But that hasn’t happened. Now, the transport department is frantically trying to get the project rolling by the end of this year.
While transport officials at Writers’ Buildings are seeing red over the escalating costs, the department’s principal secretary and additional chief secretary, Sumantra Chowdhury, sounded optimistic. “We are trying our best to launch the project by this year. Tagging it with the viability gap funding is the best option because this way, the private developer still pays Rs 3,500 crore, which is somewhat closer to the earlier cost,” he said.
Sources at Writers’ Buildings held the government’s dithering as the root cause for the mess. “No sensible government would have sat over such a sophisticated project, for it would automatically translate to escalating costs,” said an official.
Chowdhury had an explanation ready. “The LRT project had to be included in the comprehensive mobility plan which couldn’t be prepared earlier. We are ready to submit it by this month,” he said. Simultaneously, the government is preparing another project report, which will be sent to the Union finance ministry for ‘viability gap’ funding. The Centre could bear 30% of the costs under this scheme. This report will be sent to Delhi by July 15.
ORIGINAL COST: Rs 3,200 crore
REVISED COST: Rs 4,500 crore
TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS: Czech firm Amex Corporation and German Siemens WHY THE COST INCREASE? Inflation Rising prices of steel and cement

Anurag Basu - Televisionpoint.com | Kolkata (http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2008/newsfullstory.php?id=1213929889)



Friday - Jun 20, 2008

E-City Ventures, an Essel group enterprise, is charting out a roadmap, to put up around 550 multiplex screens by 2011. These will come up under its Fun Cinemas and Talkie Town brands.

The company will roll out its digital cinema infrastructure across 1,000 screens over the same span through the E-City Digital brand. Interestingly, as part of this initiative, E-City is setting up two multiplexes in Kolkata and three more dotting Haldia, Krishnanagar and Ranigunj. Once complete, Bengal will find around 20 Fun Cinemas and Talkie Town screens in all.

"The game plan till 2011 will see E-City ploughing in a total investment of Rs 700-750 crore. At present, E-City Ventures sports 50 Fun Cinemas screens and six Talkie Town ones. In the same breath, it has equipped 110 screens with digital facilities through E-City Digital. We have invested in the region of Rs 100 crore-plus till now," Atul Goel, CEO, E-City Ventures says.

Incidentally, while Fun Cinemas is a "lifestyle" format of the company with ticket rates in the bracket of Rs 125-130, Talkie Town is a "value" brand with entrance tags between Rs 50 and Rs 70. Talkie Town is targeted more at mass consumers.

"Fun Cinemas are multi-screens, while a Talkie Town outfit is a single screen. We normally take over an existing single-screen theatre for converting into a Talkie Town complex. This format is scaleable across the country," Goel said.

According to Goel, Talkie Town is meant to be an "inclusive" format which helps cover customers for whom the lifestyle Fun Cinemas is out of bounds. From the point of investment, around Rs 1.5 crore is required for every screen of Fun Cinemas, while each screen of Talkie Town calls for an expenditure of Rs 1 crore.

For E-City Digital, the cost per projector is Rs 15 lakh. "As far as the digital cinemas go, we control the programming in the halls the company equips and arbitrage on the cost between the exhibitor and the distributor,"Goel added.

The plexes in Kolkata are coming up at Lake Mall south of the city and Bengal Peerless's Access Mall at Rajarhat. Tentatively, the plexes in Haldia, Krishnanagar and Ranigunj will have three screens each.