CM to inaugurate India's biggest business convention centre today

Kolkata: History beckons New Town on Friday as the country's largest business Convention Centre gets inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, housing a seating capacity of around 3,200 people.

This is the first construction of international standards in the state since the Mamata Banerjee government took over in 2011 and it took three years to complete it.

The two-day Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in January, 2018, will be held at the Convention Centre in New Town.

With a seating capacity of around 3,200 people, it is the biggest auditorium in the country. There are around 1,200 seats in the main auditorium of Vigyan Bhavan, while those of Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai, main convention centre at HICC, Hyderabad and Science City auditorium, Kolkata have 2,750, 2,500 and 2,232 respectively.

There will be four large exhibition halls including a state banquet with a total carpet area of 17,000 square feet and spacious pre-function area having carpet area of 12,500 square feet. Garden food court linked to exhibition halls and two smaller capacity auditoria each has a seating capacity of 434 people. There will be extensive food and beverage facilities during conferences through provisions of banquet kitchens and satellite kitchens at all levels of a conference.

There will be 112 twin-bedrooms and a business centre with 10 meeting rooms. There will also be two specialty restaurants and a 24-hour coffee shop. A business club covering an area of 8,000 square feet comprising a state-of-the-art gymnasium, billiards room and cards room will also be present. An exclusive gents and ladies spa along with a salon covering an area of 7,000 square feet with a terrace level swimming pool is a major attraction of the centre.

The Convention Centre has a parking facility of 640 cars and 92 open parking and 15 bus parking units.

Mamata Banerjee had urged the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) officials to set up a Convention Centre which will be a place of pride. Accordingly, plans were drawn and L&T was entrusted to build the centre.

Firhad Hakim, state Urban Development minister visited the centre quite frequently to oversee the progress of work. In the past 15 days, he held two meetings with all the agencies when final touches were being given. The centre is a classic example of an impeccable piece of architecture, designing and construction. It is situated close to Eco Park, the country's biggest urban park, Mother's Wax Museum and Rabindra Tirtha and adds another feather to New Town's cap, the area which is coming up fast as a residential, commercial, educational and health hub of Bengal.