HIDCO to develop land beside Biswa Bangla Convention Centre

KOLKATA: Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) will develop the land situated beside the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre. The decision was taken in the board meeting of HIDCO held on Saturday. The land measuring around 7-acre was used during the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) held in January. A permanent stage will be constructed along with better infrastructure that includes supply of drinking water and food stalls, proper lighting arrangements among others so that the land can be used for exhibition and other similar purposes.

It may be recalled that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had inaugurated the country's biggest convention centre in October, 2017. The Centre has an auditorium that can accommodate 3,200 people. There are banquet halls, exhibition halls, restaurants and a 112-bed accommodation. The Centre is in high demand and meetings organised by different groups are held regularly, the last being the Chinese Education fair.

In the meeting, HIDCO has also taken an important decision to construct a suspended bridge connecting the Eco Island with the Eco Park. There was a proposed ridge in the master plan of the park made in 2011-12. The iconic designer suspension bridge will be 135 m long and 3.5 m wide. It will be made of steel. Besides a boat service, the connectivity is now maintained by a two step wooden bridge. But as the number of visitors has increased at the Eco Park, the wooden bridge is used by battery powered vehicles to ferry senior citizens and goods. Recently, senior engineers of state Irrigation and Waterways department had examined the health of the wooden bridge and have recommended re-painting with bitumen the logs that are under water.

Tender to select the firm will be floated soon. The bridge will be constructed keeping in mind the character of the Eco Park, the country's biggest urban park.