May 25, 2014
Kolkata to get her own `London Eye`
Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee`s promise to turn `Kolkatainto London` may have taken one more step with the contract of the Calcutta Eye- a 100 m tall wheel to view Kolkata from the sky – being awarded to a UK-basedcompany.
On the occasion of the declaration of the awarding of thetender, Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said that “the project willprobably be complete within 18 months after the work begins.”
The state government will set up the Kolkata Eye – modelledafter iconic London Eye – through the public-private partnership model withUK-based firm Sun Consulting and Investments.
Urban development minister Firhad Hakim said on Wednesdaythat the project cost has been pegged at Rs 381 crore, of which the governmentwill pay Rs 81 crore and the UK firm will invest Rs 300 crore. The thirdpartner in the project is Kolkata Port Trust, which will provide the land nearMillennium Park. Hakim said work on the project will start very soon.
Right after coming to power, the CM decided to beautify theHooghly riverfront on the lines of the Thames and some stretches of theriverfront have already been beautified. The government is looking for WorldBank assistance to develop the Hooghly riverfront on a grand scale and isplanning to develop riverine transport by setting up more jetties.
About the project, WB CM wrote on her Facebook page:
“A `Giant Wheel`, like the `London Eye`, will soon come upon the bank of the river Hooghly in Kolkata. It will be an icon of the greatcity of Kolkata and will enrich the ongoing River-front Beautification Project.This project is the first of its kind in size and magnitude in India.”
