Calcutta Riverside

As many as three of the six architects roped for the ambitious Calcutta Riverside project, earlier known as Batanagar project, are from Ahmedabad. 
 
The project is estimated to cost Rs 1,500 crore and is spread across a sprawling 260 acres of land at the Bata factory land, sitting on the river Hooghli. 
 
Under a joint venture between Calcutta Metropolitan Group and Bata India, a new company Riverbank Holding has been formed for the project. 
 
While Ahmedabad-based Aniket Bhagwat of Prabhakar Bhagwat firm is looking after master plan co-ordination and landscape design, Bimal Patel of HCP Design and Project Management and Rajiv Kathpalia of Vastu Shilpa Consultants are en-tasked with Golf Housing Design and River Front Housing, respectively. 
 
Talking to Business Standard, Bhagwat said, "This is the single largest integrated format in the country wherein about 1 crore sq feet of construction is anticipated." 
 
"This is a unique experiment where the architects from the country are directly involved in the project which has in the past mainly gone to some foreign architects," he further added. 
 
The master plan for the project has been drawn and it will be submitted in a month's time. 
 
The construction work is likely to initiate in three-four months. 
 
"We have tried to maintain cultural continuity by using the kind of architectural expression prevalent in Kolkata," Bhagwat said. 
 
The success of this project is believed to set benchmark for real estate developers in the country to follow. 
 
The project also envisages housing, retail, IT, school, hospital, convention centre and transportation hub. 
 
About 15 lakh sq feet built up area is expected for the IT park which would employ 15,000 people. 
 
For retail about five lakh sq feet of built up area is anticipated and about 16 lakh sq feet is for golf housing, which will have 1,200 dwelling units. 
 
The Riverfront Housing, to be designed by Kathpalia, will be spread in 40 lakh sq feet area with 2,500 dwelling units. 
 
The transportation hub will cover 7.5 acres, which will facilitate public buses, taxis and driver's area. 
 
The Bata employees will be rehabilitated as per the Bata Rehousing and Free Sale Housing project, which will provide shelter to 4,000 people. 
 
The project is undertaken by Dulal Mukherjee and Associates, Kolkata. 
 
While 12 acres of land has been marked for hospital while, about 14 acres land will provide enough ground for Durga Puja festival. 
 
Bimal Patel who is designing the Golf Housing project said, "This is a colloborative process where in some of the best architects are involved. Be it retail, housing or IT section, it will have a cutting edge architectural work." 
 
The golf housing will provide an uninterrupted view to the vast expanse. 
 
The nine executive hole golf course in being designed by Col Bagga of Bagga's Golf Management Group. 
 
The other architects in the project include Chennai-based Pramod Balakrishan, Edifice who has designed the IT section and Mumbai-based Kiran Kapadia of Kapadia Associates who has designed the retail part. 
 
The developer of the project is Sumit Dabriwala, also MD of River Bank Holdings.