Kolkata Project Update II - project news from Kolkata

[kolkata]

Source: http://cities.expressindia.com/fulls...?newsid=242162

The state government will entrust a Czech Company with the responsibility of constructing the 39-km monorail (light rapid transport system) between Panihati in the northern suburbs of Kolkata and Joka in the southern suburbs. Minister for urban development Ashok Bhattacharya who today met chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb and transport secretary Sumantra Choudhury to discuss this issue, announced this. The Rs 4000-crore project, to be built on a BOT basis, will be funded by both the Central government and the state government.

“The project will be undertaken as part of the Central government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The Centre has agreed to our proposal on principle but has requested for some clarifications from the state authorities. The chief secretary is going to Delhi with the clarifications and we hope things will be settled there,’’ Bhattacharya said.

The minister added that the state government has earmarked Rs 1400 crore for development of slums in the state. “We will demolish the present structures and build multistoried buildings which will have dwelling units, markets and other features. While 50 per cent of the money will be given by the Central government, 35 per cent of the expenses will be borne by the state. The rest will be borne by beneficiaries,’’ Bhattacharya said.

Union minister of state for urban development Kumari Selja is coming to the state on July 22 and she will discuss the issue, among others, with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

The minister also said that the government will construct a fly-over at Sector V at Salt Lake and build an urban haat a la Dilli Haat at the Central Park in the Capital

[kolkata]

Similar updates but from a different Source:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/107062...ry_7951218.asp

Originally Posted by kolkata

Source: http://cities.expressindia.com/fulls...?newsid=242162

The state government is trying to put the light rail transit (LRT) and the East-West Metro project on the fast track.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will soon write to Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy, seeking the inclusion of the LRT project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, said urban development minister Asok Bhattacharya on Wednesday.

Chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb will go to Delhi to “actively pursue” the project, said the minister. He was speaking after a meeting with transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury and Deb on the project.

The Union ministry has agreed to consider the project but has raised a number of questions regarding the passenger-carrying capacity of the LRT and the integration of the project with other modes of transport.

The Centre is expected to fund 35 per cent of the project and the state 15 per cent. The rest of the money will come from a private partner.

In tenders floated by the transport department, Czech company Amex International had emerged the highest bidder. The company plans to tie up with SREI for funding.

The state government is also working to obtain the Japanese government’s approval for the East-West Metro. It will rope in environmental experts to reply to queries by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation’s (JBIC) screening committee.

The committee wants to know how the government will deal with issues like dust pollution, noise pollution and removal of refuse from the stations. It also needs to know about the government’s preparedness regarding soil erosion and natural disasters.

The Japanese agency has raised questions about social aspects of the project and its infrastructure. “There are around 118 shops, 227 houses and a school along the proposed route. The JBIC has sought to know what form of rehabilitation we are working out,” said a senior government official.

The agency also wants to know about the underground drainage system, groundwater facilities and waste-water recycling plans

[Suncity]

Taj Gateway hotel for city

The 200-room, “mid-market” Taj Gateway hotel will come up at the EM Bypass-Rashbehari connector intersection and be ready to welcome guests by the end of 2009. It will be built on 1.9 acres and cost “around Rs 150 crore.

More

http://www.telegraphindia.com/107062...ry_7955351.asp

[Suncity]

Retail expansion in city
http://www.telegraphindia.com/107061...ry_7940802.asp

Kishore Biyani’s Future Group is looking to add another 10 Big Bazaars and three Pantaloons stores in Calcutta “by the middle of next year”. It also hopes to have the “seamless mall”, Calcutta Central on Ballygunge Circular Road, and Home Town, its home solutions format, in Rajarhat up and running by 2008-end.

The 10 new Big Bazaars will occupy 500,000 sq ft, while the three new Pantaloons stores — in South City Mall, City Centre II and Riverside Mall in Howrah — will add up to 175,000 sq ft. Calcutta Central, being designed by the New York-based Rockwell Group, will take up another 350,000 sq ft at the intersection of Ballygunge Circular Road and AJC Bose Road.

The company is also bringing its Brand Factory to Calcutta, offering over 120 brands at factory-outlet prices under one roof. Two standalone Food Bazaars, in Kumartuli and Howrah, will account for 40,000 sq ft. KB’s Wholesale Markets, an “essentially B2B” chain, will be launched, too.

Following the Mumbai model, Pantaloon Retail is planning two self-managed malls on Diamond Harbour Road in Behala and in Madhyamgram, to showcase its own formats and other brands. Mackinnon & Mackenzie House, on 16 Strand Road, is also being redeveloped by the company as a retail destination, with Benoy of the UK doing the design.

“We want Calcutta to consume more because consumption is tantamount to development and economic growth,” says Biyani. To facilitate consumption, Future Group will introduce its Future Money concept in many retail outlets, offering pre-approved loans on the spot.

Mackinnon & Mackenzie House, 16 Strand Road
photo cc rights suncity

[kolkata]

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/gen...&autono=288754

West Bengal is all set to see major investments in the information technology (IT) and hospitality sectors this year.
1. Following acquisition of Customer First, Aegis Communication Group Incorporated, the Essar group's $200 million BPO arm, is coming to Kolkata.
The company's 65,000 square feet new facility in Salt Lake Sector V would recruit 1500 people in the next one year.
2. An advanced research lab is also on its way at the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata. ........
3. Kolkata will be the Eastern Headquarter as the Cellular services provider Aircel plans to enter Kolkata by the end of the year. .....
4. Tata Teleservices which has so far invested Rs 302 crore in Bengal circle would invest another Rs 152 crore during the current fiscal year.
5. 'Health City', a 5000 bed multi-specialty, by Asia Heart Foundation (AHF), chaired by cardiac surgeon Devy Shetty and Riverbank Holding Private Limited, would be a Rs 2000 crore project. It could come up at the Calcutta Riverside Township in Batanagar south of the city. ........
6. The State Government too has geared up to provide more green as well with a 19-storey state-of-the art Green Building in Kolkata's Salt Lake to meet the growing demand for space of the IT industry in Kolkata.

[Suncity]

Unitech construction...

photo from untech google group / moloy

<---scroll if needed--->

[Hindustani]

oh how nice. unitech taking shape. good.

[btirthankar]

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=507

I perceive Car parking projects as a big necessity and also challenging. However the revenue potential is good if managed well. Both the car parking projects in Kolkata are a failure. But still if a new one is made and managed properly, it will serve as an example. Anyone working on this particular project?

[btirthankar]

Source:ET

PTI[ FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2007 07:30:14 PM]
KOLKATA: Five Tier II cities in West Bengal - Siliguri, Kalyani, Durgapur, Kharagpur and Haldia - have been identified as potential destinations for setting up IT parks by the government, state IT Secretary Siddharth said on Friday.

Siddhartha said these Tier II cities had been identified as the next IT destinations in the state, by a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study.

The government had commissioned PwC to undertake the study, which was initiated in January 2007. PwC submitted its interim report in March and the final report was submitted this month.

The final report states that of the five cities, Kalyani, Siliguri and Durgapur emerged as preferred destinations on account of their advantages in connectivity, land availability and cost, urban and social infrastructure, level of private sector interest and other location specific differentiators.

PwC has given more priority to Kalyani because of its proximity to Kolkata and the availability of government land. Moreover, it is a planned city with adequate infrastructure in terms of water supply, drainage and sewerage system.

Around 30 acres has already been identified for IT park development, which can be augmented by another 500 acres depending on the requirements.

[sidney_jec]

Monorail plan for the city
Source: Telegraph.com

Monorail plan for southern fringe
- 14-km route proposed from Taratala to budge budge
A STAFF REPORTER

A city-based company has come up with a proposal to run a monorail between Budge Budge and Taratala, on the southern fringes.

Andromeda Technologies has approached the state transport minister, Subhas Chakraborty, for implementing the project with a collaborator on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

Monorails are vehicles plying on a single track. In most cases, the rail is elevated but monorails can also run on the ground or even below it.

“In March, the proposal was forwarded to the chief minister, who gave it the green light. We have asked RITES to conduct a detailed survey and list underground utilities along the proposed route,” said a senior transport department official.

There will be three stations along the 14-km route via Jinjira Bazaar. The project cost will be about Rs 50 crore per km. According to the company, a passenger footfall of around 60,000 a day will make the project feasible.

A survey of traffic along the proposed alignment, a study of the topography and sub-soil investigations will be carried out shortly, said a government official. He felt the government is enthusiastic about the project since it would be carried out on a BOT basis and will not involve expenditure on its part.

The government has asked the departments concerned to identify encroachments along the route and the impact of the project on the local economy.

Faced with shrinking road space and traffic snarls, the state government is looking at various other high-speed transit systems, including the Rs 4,000-crore East-West Metro project between Salt Lake and Howrah.

The government also floated tenders for other modes of transport. Ten companies expressed interest in running monorail and light rail transit systems in the city. A Czech company, Amex International, along with SREI, had been shortlisted for implementing a Rs 2,400-crore project from Joka to Panihati.

[Suncity]

Doesn't look hopeful too me like the many other dream projects that the Telegraph regularly publishes. A few years back there was even a flying gondola project which would be ferrying passsengers to and from Howrah Station.

[PlaneMad]

from my recent trip to cal

I just fell in love with it. Maintainance was simply outstanding.

[sidney_jec]

Cognizant in expansion mode
Source: Business-standard.com

Cognizant to invest $200 mn to develop tech complexes

BS Reporters / Mumbai/Kolkata July 04, 2007



Information technology major Cognizant plans to invest over $200 million to develop techno-complexes in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Coimbatore by the end of 2008.

The investment will be conducted in phases. In the first installment, the company will invest $46 million in Kolkata to further expand its infrastructure to accommodate close to 4,000 employees.

The 20-acre, fully owned techno-complex is located in Bantala, an area designated as a special economic zone. Additionally, the US-based major will continue to lease additional new facilities in Kolkata to meet its growing employee strength.

Cognizant President and Managing Director R Chandrasekaran said, “As we plan for the next phase of Cognizant’s growth, we are focused on building the scale to address the needs of our businesses around the world. Building larger Cognizant-owned facilities in India is a key part of our strategy. We expect our new construction programme will enable us to meet growing customer demand in North America, Europe, South America and Asia and continue to attract the industry’s most talented people.”

Cognizant will set up its second IT and business process outsourcing services infrastructure in Kolkata with an investment of close to Rs 188 crore by the end of 2008 for land acquisition, construction of facilities and furnishing.

This is expected to increase significantly Cognizant’s footprint in Kolkata with the addition of over 500,000 sq ft of office space that could accommodate approximately 4,000 new employees. Cognizant will also continue to lease additional facilities in Kolkata.

Chandrasekaran said, “Our strategy to make ahead-of-the-curve investments in our people and infrastructure has established Cognizant among the top companies in the offshore outsourcing industry.”

“Cognizant has scaled up to approximately 4,000 professionals in Kolkata and is committed to grow this centre, tapping into the rich talent pool in the eastern part of the country. The Kolkata development centre’s focus on high growth industry segments and the discipline of high-quality execution enabled us to build stronger customer businesses,” added Siddhartha Mukerjee, vice-president and head of Kolkata operations, Cognizant.

Cognizant, at present, has over 44,000 employees, who are committed to partnerships that sustain long-term, proven value for customers by delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions through its development centres in India and on-site client teams.

[jdutta2002]

hello sun n others i am a new joinee...i must say i am most impressed by the work put up by all of u espclly sun..... just wanted to kno whether any one has any update on City Centre II and more importantly Forum II.

[Hindustani]

jdutta2002..............welcome aboard.

Originally Posted by jdutta2002

hello sun n others i am a new joinee...i must say i am most impressed by the work put up by all of u espclly sun..... just wanted to kno whether any one has any update on City Centre II and more importantly Forum II.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by jdutta2002

hello sun n others i am a new joinee...i must say i am most impressed by the work put up by all of u espclly sun..... just wanted to kno whether any one has any update on City Centre II and more importantly Forum II.

City Centre II is under construction. No clue about Forum II.

[Suncity]

Greenwood Elements
New Town
http://www.shrachi.com/bengalshrachi...ents/index.htm

[cbeboy]

Shriram Properties to invest Rs 1,000 cr


Shriram Properties Ltd, the real estate arm of the Rs 8,500 crore Shriram Group, plans to invest nearly Rs 1,000 crore to acquire land for developing real estate projects in Kolkata by the end of this year, according to Mr M. Murali, Managing Director, Shriram Properties.

“We plan to take up several real estate projects in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Kolkata. In Kolkata alone we will invest Rs 1,000 crore to acquire land,” Mr Murali told Business Line over the phone.

Developing SEZ

The company plans to set up project specific joint ventures with local developers for real estate projects in and around Kolkata. The company has already partnered city-based developer Eden Realty Ventures and has acquired land in the eastern part of the city. Besides residential and commercial projects, Shriram Properties also plans to develop a Special Economic Zone in Kolkata.

“These days money is not an issue. The problem is to get land at the right locations,” Mr Murali said while commenting on how his company plans to fund its investment.

“Once we have the land investment will automatically come in,” he added. Shriram Properties, which has finalised an arrangement with Hindustan Motors to develop an integrated IT township and auto park on 314 acres in Uttarpara, expects to commence construction by the end of the year. The project is expected to be completed in the next couple of years.

According to the company’s Web site, the Rs 450 crore Shriram Properties currently has over 2.5 million square feet of land holdings.

[sidney_jec]

Source: BS.com

Cognizant to set up second unit in Kolkata

BS Reporter / Kolkata July 05, 2007



Cognizant will set up its second IT and business process outsourcing services infrastructure in Kolkata with an investment of close to Rs 188 crore by end of 2008 on land acquisition, facilities construction and furnishing.

This is expected to significantly increase Cognizant’s footprint in Kolkata with the addition of over 500,000 sq ft of office space that could accommodate approximately 4000 new employees.

The new fully-owned techno-complex would come up on 20 acres in Bantala, a Special Economic Zone.

Cognizant would also continue to lease additional facilities in Kolkata as required to meet its headcount growth requirements.

Said R Chandrasekaran, president and managing director, Cognizant. “Our strategy to make ahead-of-the-curve investments in our people and infrastructure has established Cognizant among the top companies in the offshore outsourcing industry. As we plan for the next phase of Cognizant’s growth, we are focused on building the scale to address the needs of our businesses around the world. Building larger Cognizant-owned facilities in India is a key part of our strategy. We expect our new construction programme will enable us to meet growing customer demand in North America, Europe, South America and Asia and continue to attract the industry’s most talented and best people.”

“Cognizant has scaled up to approximately 4,000 professionals in Kolkata and is committed to grow this centre tapping into the rich talent pool in the Eastern part of India. The Kolkata development center’s focus on high growth industry segments-Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, Retail, ERP and CRM-and the discipline of high quality execution excellence have enabled us to build stronger customer businesses,” added Siddhartha Mukerjee, vice-president and head of Kolkata operations, Cognizant.

This $46 million investment in Kolkata is a part of Cognizant’s larger program to spend about $200 million through the end of 2008 to build new fully-owned techno-complexes across Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Kolkata over three million square feet and capacity for over 30,000 new employees.

Cognizant, at present, has over 44,000 employees who are committed to partnerships that sustain long-term, proven value for customers by delivering high-quality, cost-effective solutions through its development centers in India and on-site client teams.

[sidney_jec]

Source: BS.com

Emami plans to invest Rs 1000 cr in medicare

Nirmalya Mukherjee / Bhubaneswar July 05, 2007



Kolkata-based Shrachi and Emami groups plan to invest Rs 1,000 crore in medicare services over the next five years.

Of the total investments, the two firms will raise Rs 300 crore through internal resources, while the rest will be raised through debt. The two groups plan to set up a number of tertiary and secondary care hospitals across the country, with focus on the eastern region.

Speaking to Business Standard, Shravan Todi, chairman, Shrachi group, said, “The hospitals will be built under the existing brand of Advanced Medicare Research Institute (AMRI). We are currently in the process of lining up investments.”

At present, Shrachi and Emami are jointly promoting a 200-bed multi-speciality hospital (MSH) near Khandagiri Chowk in Bhubaneswar. The detailed project report (DPR) is being worked out.

Orissa government has allotted 4.5 acres of land for setting up the MSH at Khandagiri. Shrachi and Emami plan to invest around Rs 70 crore in the initial stages for setting up the MSH.

D N Agarwal, executive director, AMRI Hospitals, said, “The MSH at Bhubaneswar is likely to be completed in the next couple of years. Construction and civil work will shortly begin.” The hospital will basically provide advanced medical treatment.

Todi said, “Provisions might also be made for free beds in the hospital.”

AMRI plans to have over 1000 beds across its entire hospital chain in the next few years and emerge as one of the biggest in the country.

Of the total, the 525-bed facilities would be completed in the next couple of years.

A 200-bed hospital each will be constructed at Bhubaneswar and Kolkata. Besides, the bed capacity at the Dhakuria centre will be increased to 435 from the existing 370.

Two years ago, Shrachi and Emami group took over Suraksha medical centre thereby adding another 170 beds to AMRI’s existing capacity. AMRI currently has a bed capacity of around 540 in Kolkata.

Emami’s current turnover is about Rs 1,200 crore, and the group’s net profit is estimated at over Rs 200 crore in 2006-07.