KOLKATA/SINGUR: Realty firm Purti plans to set up a resort, to be managed by JW Marriott, with luxury weekend homes on a 45-acre plot in Singur, with a proposed investment of Rs 400 crore. The announcement has revived hopes of fresh investments in the belt.
The plot is just 8km from the place where Tata Motors was to have set up the Nano factory, and the announcement comes almost exactly 10 years after the group decided to relocate to Gujarat.
Locals feel the new project will attract other investors and revive the local economy. Udayan Das, a doctor who has set up a cold storage unit in the area, was elated.
“Any project will lead to local employment, both direct and indirect,” he said.
While large-scale employment is unlikely in a resort project that requires special training in hospitality, schoolteacher Basanta Mukherjee feels it will generate a positive vibe about Singur.
The 150-keys resort will only be the second in India to be managed by the Marriott group. The first one is in Mussoorie,
Uttarakhand. While the resort will cater to leisure, business and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) guests, the 75 luxury villas will be sold as weekend homes.
In recent years, Delhi-based soft drinks company Campa-Cola has set up a bottling plant in Singur, and AV Birla Group firm Pantaloons has constructed a warehouse there.
The Durgapur Expressway and adjoining Delhi Road are witnessing a sudden realty boom, with the city expanding to the west across the Hooghly. The Shapoorji Pallonji group is constructing a housing project, Joyville, on 30 acres at Salap, Howrah.
The
Shriram group is setting up Shriram Grand City on 314 acres at Uttarpara. Alcove Realty is constructing the New Kolkata township on 28 acres in
Serampore.
All of these are focused on affordable living to reap incentives announced by the Centre. On the other hand, the resortcum-villa project has a luxury tag and targets high net-worth individuals.
Around 40km away on NH-6, the
InterContinental Hotels Group is partnering with SDB Developers to manage a 110-key resort on a 12-acre plot in Uluberia. The facility will operate under the Holiday Inn Resort brand.
