For the past few years, West Bengal has been the centre of attraction of several investors owing to its promising potential to outshine others. After several successful development stories in the field of tourism and small scale industries, West Bengal is all set to witness its infrastructure grow by leaps and bounds. With various ongoing and upcoming projects, lets us take a closer look at the developing infrastructure scenario of West Bengal.
KOLKATA METRO EAST-WEST METRO CORRIDOR
Kolkata boasts of running India’s oldest metro. To add to the pride, an extension project is going on that includes an 8km-long and 100ft-deep tunnel under the Hoogly river, along with a 5.7 km long elevated section. Kolkata Metro Rail (KMRC) was formed to look after the construction and the operation of the extension work and the ground breaking took place in February 2009. The construction of the metro lines is being jointly taken up by the Government of West Bengal and the central Government of India.
THE PROJECT:
12 new stations will be constructed as a part of the new project that will link Salt Lake Sector 5 V in the east to Howrah Maidan in the west. State-of-the-art tunnel boring will be implemented to carry out the construction of the underground sections. This use of advanced technique will ensure minimal disruption of the ground surface. Chances of traffic congestion due to construction in the heart of a city as busy as Kolkata will be reduced due to the same.
The state Government is also considering the extension of East-West Metro from Salt Lake to NSC Bose Airport.
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
MICROTUNNELING
Kolkata Environmental Improvement Investment Programme (KEIIP) has been instrumental in initiating and carrying out different mircrotunneling projects in Kolkata with the help of competent trenchless service provider Atoz Infracon Pvt. Ltd.
Sewer pipelines have been laid for more than 2 km across National Highway which is a high traffic road, and thanks to efficient microtunneling for the minimized surface disruption and prevention of traffic congestion. Another 5 km microtunneling water transmission project has been successfully carried out in New Town area. 4G lines for Reliance have been laid in many parts of West Bengal using trenchless methods.
Atoz Infracon Pvt. Ltd. has been instrumental in carrying out several microtunneling projects all across the state of West Bengal.
ROADWAYS
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission has encouraged the State Government to take the initiative to come up with a Rs. 27 billion action plan. The plan includes extension and widening of arterial roads and of secondary roads, construction of pedestrian underpasses to will benefit the pedestrials to a great extent. Bridges, flyovers, elevated roads and traffic and transportation systems are also to be contructed under this plan.
Several foreign companies are already in the fray to partner the Government of West Bengal in its efforts for improvement of roads. Indonesia based Salim Group would be constructing the Eastern Link Highway from Barasat to Raichak, and two Four Lane Road Bridges across the Hooghly and Haldi rivers facilitating connectivity between Kolkata and the port city of Haldia.
INLAND WATERWAYS
The Transport Department of Government of West Bengal has initiated plans to reclaim the North Canal system which is a 43 km stretch of canal. It stretches from the river Hooghly right across to the river Raimangal on the border of Bangladesh. This was once the artery of trade which can restore trade links and lead to substantial economic development of the region.
Given the present scenario of the growing infrastructure in West Bengal, we can start hoping for days when we would not have to get stuck in traffic anymore. With widened roads and efficient construction work, it seems that we are all set to take a leap towards a better future.
