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Kolkata is quietly implementing some of the major infrastructure projects.
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Once capital of India, Kolkata today is probably the least talked about metro in terms of development. There is a general perception that the eastern city is not witnessing the kind of growth that it should have been, thanks to hostile political environment, red-tape culture and lack of government will to implement mega projects. These are the key factors enough for any corporate to shy away from investing in the city.
But, under the shadow of all these negativities, the city is quietly implementing some of the major infrastructure projects that can completely change the face of Kolkata. India’s first city to have Metro Rail, Kolkata is extending its existing network upto Dakshineswar, Barrackpore and Barasat. In addition to that, it is implementing Rs4,874.58-crore East-West Kolkata Metro corridor project, the first ever in the country to run under a river. Afcons Infrastructure has bagged Rs938-crore project to design and construct 3.89-km

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stretch, including 520 metres of the underwater section and three underground stations at Howrah Maidan, Howrah station and Mahakaran.
The total 13.77-km corridor would run from IT hub Salt Lake to Howrah Maidan. The deadline for completion of the entire project is October 2014. The East-West Kolkata Metro project is expected to help increase the real estate price on the Metro route.
“The potential growth sector is in the existing Metro Route as well as proposed East and West Metro Routes. There will be growth on the National Highways like NH2, NH6 and 24 Parganas (South),” said Sushil Mohta, MD, Merlin Group Of Companies, whose company is implanting some of the major real estate project in and around the city.
“The demand of housing is almost back on track. Prices are back to the pre-recession level or rather have gone up. We are witnessing regular sales in all our projects in all segments,” he added.
Santosh Rungta, President, CREDAI, said: “With a phenomenal demand for residential and commercial space prevailing in the region, one can expect more and more quality projects taking shape in Kolkata.
The city has a distinct possibility to continue seeing a northward growth with large projects in residential, commercial and shopping malls being taken up by the private and the joint sector. With more and more corporates setting up its operations in the region and thus infusing demand in commercial space, Kolkata now enjoys a dominant position in the country’s real estate development map.”
Some of the other major infrastructure projects which are slated to come up in the city are Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) on EM Bypass, flyover at Paramo Island/Park Street Connector, water supply system in a number of municipalities and upgradation of the existing airport.
“Currently Kolkata is witnessing three new construction projects where huge investments are being made. The new Kolkata airport is coming up at an investment of Rs2,500 crore. The East West Metro Rail is coming up at an investment of Rs5,000 crore (Rs4,874.58 crore) and a nine-km flyover is being built connecting Park Circus to Eastern Metropolitan Bypass at a cost of Rs400 crore.
Apart from these, thousands of apartments are under construction in Rajarhat, the New Town coming up in the Easter part of Kolkata,” said, Srinivash Singh, MD, McNally Bharat Engineering.
Singh said the city has a large base of young educated population which is an ideal destination for new age industries like IT, BOP & Telecom.
“The state has been politically stable for decades. Moreover, the infrastructure in Kolkata has improved considerably over the last few years, which is attracting a number of multinationals and large groups to set up shop here,” he added. Kolkata-based Magma Fincorp Limited who provides commercial vehicle and construction equipment financing expects the market to grow at 15-20% with estimated size of Rs1800-2000 crore. And this growth rate will create need for more flyovers and parking zones in the city.
“The way traffic is growing, we will soon require a lot many flyovers in the city. Flyovers and centralised car parks will be the need of the hour. We will soon have a lot of specialised industrial zones,” said Ashutosh Shukla, Chief Operating Officer, Magma Fincorp.
In addition to modernisation of existing Kolkata airport that Airport Authority of India is undertaking, the state is going to have India’s first airport city in Durgapur.
The Rs10,000-crore Aerotropolis project, being developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) along with 26% holding partner Changi Airport International, will have airport, business parks, logistics hubs, industrial parks, wholesale merchandise marts, IT complexes, hotels and entertainment centres, retail centres and residential apartments.
The BAPL plans to start construction of airport this month and expects to complete it by end of 2011. The construction majors such as L&T, Simplex Infrastructure, Tantia Constructions Ltd and Hindustan Construction Company have bid for the project. The project will be completed in a span of five to seven years.
The city is expected to have 9.6 million sq ft of office space operational during 2010-12. New business districts at Rajarhat and Salt Lake Sector V are having developments in almost all real estate asset classes.

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