Construction Industry News
The City of Joy will get its first helipad in the central business district. The project, which is being planned by a private company, would not only address a logistical problem but would also give riverbank development the much-needed boost it needs.
There is no helipad in the financial district yet. The helipad on the track is used by those flying in and out of the city by helicopter (usually VIPs and VVIPs). There is also a helipad in New Town, on the eastern edge of town, atop a private hotel.
Bengal Bonded Warehouse Limited (BBWL), a two-century-old company, is developing the city center facility in the Strand Road project. “The helipad will be more than 8,000 square meters in size, a first in the central business district,” said Mahendra Kumar Jalan, chairman emeritus of Keventer, owner of the company. “We are investing Rs 50 million for the helipad on the terrace of the project,” he added.
Jalan claimed that the proposed helipad had KMC's approval. Three years ago, the Airport Authority of India approved it. If everything goes according to plan, the project could be completed in a few years, according to Jalan.
On the riverside property, Bengal Bonded Warehouse Limited (BBWL) owns approximately 2.7 acres (25, Netaji Subhas Road, the formal name of Strand Road). The buildings on the site date back more than a century. “KMC, relying on a recently introduced provision in the building regulations, allocates additional floor space to recoup developers' development costs for renovating existing residents. This project would be the first to be sanctioned by KMC under this scheme,” said Mahendra Kumar Jalan, chairman emeritus of Kventer, owner of the company.
The redevelopment would also be in line with the government's larger plans to improve the riverfront, according to Jalan. "The social and economic benefits for the people and the government would be enormous," he said.
According to Jalan, they planned to build a 33-storey structure with a total built-up area of approximately 1 million square feet in the center of the lot. The building will have a common base with a parking lot up to the seventh floor before splitting into two towers. “It will have all the modern features – 20% of the power would come from a solar system on the roof and part of the facade; there would be charging stations for e-vehicles and an 'HVAC system'. performed by river water, without affecting the ecological balance," he added.
