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Kolkata West International City
Kolkata West International City
Urban, planned Township
	Kolkata West International gateway
	Salap, Howrah
Area
• Total	153 ha (378 acres)
Population
• Total	~30,000
Website	https://kolkatawest.in/

Kolkata West International City is a satellite township development of Kolkata, located at Salap^[2] in Howrah district. The project is under construction in the form of a joint-venture between KMDA and Singapore-based conglomerate^[3] Universal Success Group (USEL).^[4]

Project

Kolkata West International City (KWIC) is India’s first Foreign Direct Investment in real estate and township development. It is a satellite township development of Kolkata, located at Salap in Howrah district. The project is a joint venture between KMDA and USEL. The project is a 372-acre mixed-use development with residential, commercial, institutional and recreational segments. Overall developable area of 41 million square feet and developments currently spread over 6 million sq ft in the township.

The project was one of the largest foreign direct investments in township projects in India^[5] and the first in West Bengal.^[6] The Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority acquired a 390-acre plot beside the Kona Expressway at Salap^[7] and handed it over to the consortium along with sub-leasing rights.^[8] It was unveiled by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, on 15 February 2006 and was expected to comprise about 11,000 apartments (flats/villas) to house nearly 36,000 people.^[4]

The first phase of the project was to span across 82 acres with the flats being priced between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 80 lakh.^[8] There were further plans to set up dedicated power stations, sports facilities, IT parks, entertainment zones, hospitals and schools.^[4] The first 450 units were to be sold over by December 2007 and the entire project, comprising five phases,^[9] was expected to be completed and delivered by 2010.^[4]

Connectivity

Rail

Santragachi Railway Station – 5 kms,
Bally Railway Station – 15 kms,
Howrah Station – 10kms,
Shalimar Station – 13kms

Metro

Dakshineshwar Metro – 16kms
Upcoming East West Metro till Santragachi (Presently up to Howrah Maidan)

Air

Kolkata Airport – 26kms

By Road

New Town – 32kms,
Esplanade – 17kms,
Sector V – 29kms,
Dakshineshwar – 17kms

Existing Neighbourhood

Educational Institutions

Podar International School – within campus
Narayana International School (upcoming) – within campus
Orchid International School (upcoming) – within campus
Julien Day School – 0.8 KMs
DPS (Domjur) – 5 KMs
Asian International School – 15 KMs
ST. Mary’s Day School – 5 KMs
Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, Shibpur, Howrah – 10 KMs

Business Centres

Howrah Court – 10 KMs
Howrah Maidan – 8 KMs
Nabanna -10.5KMs
Park Street – 17 KMs
Howrah Collectorate Office – 10 KMs

Entertainment Zones

Avani Riverside Mall Howrah – 11 KMs
Forum Mall, Elgin Road – 19 KMs
Liluah Big Bazar – 10KMs
Rangoli Mall – 16 KMs
Quest Mall – 20 KMs
South City – 25 KMs
City Center II – 30 KMs

Healthcare Facilities

Bankra Central Nursing Home – 0.1 KMs
Howrah State General Hospital – 10 KMs
Narayana Specialty Hospital – 13 KMs
ILS Hospitals – 15 KMs

Opposition

Residents of Howrah, including the former deputy mayor of the Howrah Municipal Corporation, initially demanded that the word "Kolkata" be replaced with "Howrah" in the township's name. They alleged that it would mislead potential land owners into thinking that KWIC was in Kolkata, when it was actually in Howrah.^[10]

The project also faced criticism over its water supply. Howrah Municipal Corporation agreed to supply 2 million gallons of water per day to the project, despite its inability to sustain a proper water supply to all of its constituents.^[11]

Delays

The developers have missed numerous deadlines since 2008. Less than half of the first phase work was completed by 2013, when it should have been completed by 2008.^[3]^[8] Salim Group and Ciputra Development went away soon after missing the first deadline.^[12]

The buyers have since formed an association (Kolkata West Buyers' Welfare Association) to protest against the delays. A few flats were eventually provided with completion certificates from 2011 and onwards^[9]^[13] but were allegedly far from complete and constructed in a sub-optimal fashion.^[8]

Multiple protests have been held since 2011.^[3]^[9]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16] In July 2011, Abhay Mohan Jha of HIMAL Southasian, made a visit to the proposed township and found it to be a desolated and uninhabited place, that resembled a cemetery. After being prohibited from entering the property, he visited the project-office in Chowringhee to find about 200 investors in a dharna, who despite having paid in full, were unable to move in, due to lack of any infrastructure.^[6] Work progressed at a very slow pace and whilst more houses were eventually constructed, some of them were lacking connecting roads.^[17] The Association also protested by writing to West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee.^[18]^[19]

Universal Success Group blamed the delayed processing of certain approvals from various regulatory bodies such as KMDA.^[9] KMDA denied the allegations and claimed the group was not transparent when they queried it about the reasons behind such extraordinary delays.^[9]

The Association has also filed a case against Kolkata West with the Competition Commission of India.^[20] Some homeowners also filed individual lawsuits demanding a refund.^[21]

References

^ https://www.kolkatawestinternational.com/ ^{[bare URL]}
^ "Kolkata West International City".
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bungalow buyers in a bind". The Telegraph. Kolkata, India. 3 June 2011. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Saha, Subhro (14 April 2006). "West wake-up - A sprawling satellite township that promises a slew of facilities and can house 36,000 people may change the face of Howrah". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
^ Chattopadhya, Suhrid Sankar. "Focus: West Bengal". Changing Phase. Frontline, Vol 24, Issue 2, 27 Jan–9 Feb 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
^ ^a ^b Jha, Abhay Mohan (July 2011). "Herey Chhe". Lalitpur, Nepal: The Himal, July 2011. Archived from the original on 17 March 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
^ "NRI Buyers Protesr Delay".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Township buyers protest delay". The Telegraph. Kolkata, India. 25 September 2013. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Ranjan Bose, Pratim (June 2011). "A Kolkata township that remains castles in the air". Kolkata, India: Business Line, 18 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ Mukherjee, Mita (10 January 2007). "Howrah Cry to alter name". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
^ "The Statesman". 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
^ Mitra, Dola (17 November 2016). "Keep An Ear Out For Whispers". Outlook. India. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Delayed project: Buyers of posh housing complex threaten stir". Kolkata, India: Business Line, 28 May 2011. June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ Service, Statesman News (September 2013). "Buyers demand allotment of flats". Kolkata, India: The Statesman, 25 September 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
^ Banerjee, Arindam (June 2011). "Bungalows paid for, not delivered". Kolkata, India: The Indian Express, 20 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ "CJ exposes land scam in West Bengal". Kolkata, India: CNN-IBN, 8 June 2011. June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ Object, object (6 March 2018). "KWIC buyers welfare body seeks CM's intervention over unfinished project". www.millenniumpost.in. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
^ Goswami, Tarun (June 2011). "Don't give Nayachar project to Prasun: Kolkata West buyers tell Mamata". Kolkata, India: The Statesman, 27 June 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
^ Basu, Manish (May 2011). "Kolkata West homebuyers seek Bengal CM's intervention in row". Kolkata, India: Mint, 20 May 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
^ Mazumdar, Jharna (August 2011). "Conflict zone". Kolkata, India: Financial Chronicle, 24 August 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
^ "Kolkata West International City Pvt Ltd vs Devasis Rudra". kanoon. Retrieved 12 February 2024.