Mall, office complex near railway hub

A retail-cum-commercial complex, a Rs 100-crore public-private partnership project, will soon open doors in Sealdah.

The joint initiative of the KMDA and the Keventer Fresh Group has given the erstwhile ragged structure next to NRS hospital and off Sealdah station a makeover, with Big Bazaar of the Future Group anchoring the G+9 mall and office tower.

The retail mall will be inaugurated on February 22.

“We decided to bring in a private partner to add value to the project and create a contemporary shopping centre,” said Kalyan Roy, director (socio-economic wing), KMDA.

“We paid the KMDA Rs 35 crore for the land and the structure. The makeover design is by German architecture firm Gherzi,” said M.K. Jalan, the chairman of the Keventer Fresh Group.

Keventer was awarded the project after a two-tiered assessment of technical and financial bids. The commercial risk of the project has been borne by the private partner, with a 99-year lease lock-in.

Big Bazaar is gearing up for “very high footfall” at its newest outlet in Kolkata. “We have taken into account the profile of the catchment area and the fact that the property is adjacent to such a high-footfall railway hub,” said Kishore Biyani, the Future Group CEO.

The group has a revenue-sharing pact with Keventer on sales turnover from the 80,000sq ft Big Bazaar outlet, spread across five floors. An insurance company will take up the office space from the fifth to ninth floors.


Subhro Saha,The Telegraph Metro