The Left Front government of West Bengal is going flat out to bag foreign investment in township development.
The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority, an agency of the government of West Bengal, has floated a global tender for a $1 billion, 5,010-acre township at Dankuni, 25 km west of Kolkata.
This comes six months after the state government signed a deal in November 2004 with the Indonesia-based Ciputra and Salim groups on a non-competitive basis to develop an integrated satellite township in Howrah named the Kolkata West International City spread over 400 acres combining residential and commercial zones.
The Indonesian investor group claimed it would require investments in the region of $350 million, but land for the project was handed over at a nominal price.
The proposed township at Dankuni, which has been evaluated and found feasible by international property consultant CB Richard Ellis, will involve a much bigger investment.
"We estimate that the project cost will easily surpass $1 billion in view of the size of the project and its proximity to the central business district via the existing six-lane highway," sources in the state government told Business Standard.
The cost of development and construction will work out to around Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) an acre, which, the sources said, was reasonable for a full-fledged township, excluding the cost of land.
The 5,010 acre plot has a zone of 941 acres set aside for industrial users, while 4,069 acres will be occupied by housing and public spaces.
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