We are now trying to project New Town Kolkata as an Exhibition and Convention centre of South Asia. We had a review meeting yesterday at Hidco Bhavan with officers of Hidco, NKDA, L&T and other agencies. I mentioned that a large number of exhibitions and conventions have been taking place in New Town Kolkata. Few segments where this zone has already been considered a preferred destination are as follows:-
1. Mining equipment exhibition. Heavy equipment cannot be taken in interior and central part of Kolkata due to height and weight restrictions .( CII 2016, Eco Park grounds, Indian Foundry Association )
2. Entertainment including musical shows. Huge number of youths prefer to come from across India / North-East India and it is easy to reach from the Airport. The NH7 band was held in an area on the borders of New Town. Zee Saregama finals and Sunburn Music Event with Snake DJ was held on grounds near Eco Park. There are large concrete/ paved flat grounds with all amenities like electricity, water, and most important, sanitation and sewer lines with existing workers’ toilets.
3. Professional and medical/ sports conferences. There is a tremendous demand for national and international conventions. The 400 seater Najrul Tirtha has hosted National Cancer Symposium, Taekwondo Summit and Body Building shows. There are two additional 400 seater auditoria collocated in the State Convention Centre site, soon to be commissioned.
4. Largest convention centre in Asia with 3,200 seats in single auditorium, is the largest single indoor convention area available with a huge stage, banquet hall, seminar rooms pre-function area multi-level car parking and 100 room collocated hotel with all amenities. Advance bookings till 2019 are already being received even though the target completion date is on second half of 2017. Nearness to 480-acre Eco Park is an additional attraction for participants.
5. Large tract of open-to-sky grounds available in New Town for hanger-based massive expos, without traffic congestion and close to airport.Large number of hotels including the largest 5-star hotel of Kolkata (Novotel) as well as other hotels would give delegates additional choices. A business club, a dedicated movie theatre (NazrulTirtha) for special screenings and a 250 yard golf driving range add to the attractions.
In view of all these, I argued, we must carve out a strategy to project New Town as a Exposition and Convention destination. And the crucial issue is to complete the Biswa Banga Convention Centre on time.
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Clippings:
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| Aajkal dt 29 April 2017 |
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| Bartaman dt 29 April 2017 |
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| Millennium Post dt 29 April 2017 |
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| Asian Age dt 29 April 2017 |
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