Essel Group plans smart city in West Bengal

KOLKATA: After committing Rs 7,500 crore worth investment towards development of five smart cities in Madhya Pradesh, Essel Group Chairman Dr Subhash Chandra on Thursday expressed interest in West Bengal.

“Bengal has everything to gain from where it is today,” he said. Essel Group has met the chief minister and proposed to develop a smart city in the state. This proposed smart city like the pilot projects in Madhya Pradesh will be developed under a Public Private Part nership (PPP) model. “To come up with a smart city in Kolkata or any other place in India physical infrastructure has to be sorted with a minimum of 50 years perpective which would include intelligent traffic management system, sewage management, solid waste management, road development, working on broadband and wi-fi,” said Ashok Agarwal, Director & CEO, Essel Infra & Utilities.

Agarwal said a population of per one million would require investment of Rs 10 crore.

“We have presented our profile and capabilities to the chief minister and shall start work as soon as the tendering is done.”