Real Estate Kolkata
If you were a resident of Kolkata in the 70′ and 80’s, you probably
would not recognize the glitzy commercial and residential buildings
dotting the skyline today. The initiative of real estate
developers in Kolkata have infused the once-jaded look
of the city with swank residential apartments
and commercial spaces with a bold message that
‘Kolkata has truly arrived’.
Moreover, the state government is open to 100% foreign investment
in real estate. The state’s urban development ministry has fixed
a minimum area of 10 acres for developing housing plots, while
50, 000 square metres has been fixed for minimum built up area
in construction development projects.
The Kolkata West International City across the River Hooghly
in Howrah, the first venture funded by foreign capital, is spread
over 390 acres that will offer 5500 bungalows on free hold land
by 2009. With the best lifestyle accessories to boot, the township
is a zip drive from the business district.
South City promises to be a landmark edifice as the the Emami,
Sureka, Shrachi, JB. and Merlin Group of companies have come together
for 3 residential-commercial projects on Prince Anwar Shah Road,
B.L.Shah Road, and Alipore. Standing 35 storeys tall, South City
will also house the city’s largest mall and an international school.
The city is stretching its limits towards Dankuni with another
multi-use township on 5000 acres available for development. National
and international bidders are in the fray for this coveted project.
On the commercial property front, 13.3 million square feet will
be available in Sector V, Salt Lake and Rajarhat, the city’s IT
hub. Retail spaces are also expected to grow to 1.5 million sq.
ft of space – from 3 malls to 12 in the next few years, international
brands will make their presence felt in the city, as incomes rise
and lifestyles get more ‘stylized’. Two real estate projects in
the 7-star category were launched in early 2007 to meet the aspiration
for global brands amongst the elite of the city.
Appreciation
Jones Lang LaSalle, the world’s largest integrated real estate
and investment management firm, finds Kolkata an attractive business
destination, and worthy of figuring on the company’s list of ’emerging
winners’. Inexpensive rentals, a successful private-public partnership
model, incentives from the state government, political stability,
a fair playing field for all real estate developers are factors
very strongly in Kolkata’s favor.
In fact the West Bengal government’s initiative in tying up with
private builders has facilitated opening up vast stretches of
land which the existing urban land ceiling laws would never have
made possible. The West Bengal government has created a cross-subsidy
model for real estate developers in Kolkata, allowing them to
make profits on high income housing provided middle income groups
are sold flats at a no-profit, no-loss basis, and to the lower
income groups at a lower than cost price.
The IT sector is growing at twice the national rate at 70% in
Kolkata. The demand for 6 lakh sq.ft of commercial space has been
expressed by foreign investors, MNCs and banks in the city. In
fact, of all the foreign investors looking for investment opportunities
in India, 40% of these are focusing on Kolkata.
Experts are of the view that ready commercial spaces available
at short notice would make Kolkata a more attaractive destination
for major corporations which are now looking for facilitites in
the city. The time taken to sanction building plans would considerably
cut down construction time by 3-6 months.
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Friday, July 27,2007: NRI scientist Himanshu Jain has grabbed the prestigious Otto Schott Research Award in glass research. 
