ADPA: What makes it the ideal spot for Sujalaam?

The Asansol Development Planning Area (ADPA) is the stage that has been set for the unfolding saga of India’s first Greenfield private airport and the aerotropolis complementing it.

However, if one is curious about why this area, and no other, was chosen as the backdrop for this tale of a  Biswa Bangla, or Global Bengal, the reasons are many.

Sujalaam Skycity, which wants to give a fillip to the industrial and economic development of the state, is coming up in a region where mining and wholesale trade and commerce dominate the economic activity. The major impetus to the region’s economic growth has been given by easily available and cost-effective power, abundant raw material, cheap and skilled labour, adequate water supply and strong connectivity with Kolkata, North Bengal, the neighbouring states and the Northeast.

The traditional industrial base of Sujalaam’s catchment area is primarily supported by coal from the mines of Raniganj, iron and steel, which has led to rapid diversification and new industrial ventures, including heavy engineering, cement, fertilizers and coal-based chemicals.

Retail activities in the ADPA is concentrated around the GT Road. What’s more, a plan to set up markets at alternative sites is already on the anvil. The markets will be backed by modern logistics centres and have adequate warehousing facilities, truck terminals and marketing centers among other provisions.

The catchment area is also sufficiently equipped to support a proposed Food Park, the first of its kind in the region, in the Skycity. Rice is the most important crop of the district and paddy covers most of the gross cropped area. Among commercial crops, potato, jute, mesta, sugarcane and oil seeds are cultivated in marginal area.

Although pisciculture, or fish farming, was hitherto not significantly developed in the region, a small lake within the Skycity has been built with the express purpose to give a consequential push to this sector. The lake is also intended to beautify the surroundings within which it exists.

The entire district of Burdwan is known for finely crafted iron, brass and bell-metal utensils. Among other small industries flourishing in this area include cutlery, cart-making, clay statuettes and dolls, dairy, crafts in gold and silver and manufacturing of lime, mats, pottery, sweets, tiles, leatherwork, woodwork, wrought iron and steel objects, cane and bamboo products, jaggery and works out of stones.

What’s more, Durgapur is already famous for its array of medical and educational institutes.

The famous educational institutions in this region include the National Institute Of Technology (NIT), Regional Engineering College, National Power Training Institute (NPTI), Bengal College of Engineering and Technology, BC Roy Engineering College, Durgapur Government College, Durgapur Women’s College, Michael Madhusudan Memorial College, DAV Model School, Hemsheela Model School, St. Xavier’s School and Carmel School.

Among its state-of-the-art healthcare institutions are the Mission Hospital, DSP Main Hospital, Vivekananda Hospital, ESI Hospital, Disha Eye Care, IQ City Medical College and IQ City NarayanaHrudayalaya Hospital.

 

Clearly, the Skycity has chosen as its backdrop a region, where holistic development and the pursuit of excellence have long been indispensable parts of life. Where else could the future of Bengal have taken shape?

Health is wealth: Medical institutes find a home in the Skycity!

One of the fundamental requirements of a township, if it has to fulfil its potential, is to make sure that residents are provided with every kind of facility such as connectivity and logistics, education, healthcare, recreation, leisure, lifestyle etc. to make it a complete eco system.

And when the township aims to be the cradle of a resurgent Bengal, it has to be planned in such a way that the development of none of the above-mentioned facilities is left to chance or attended to with less stringency than it demands.

Sujalaam Skycity, which is the first of its kind in India — an aerotropolis that combines the finest living standards with effulgent industrial development — does, indeed, aim to write a new chapter in the history of Bengal. Therefore, it was imperative to make sure that its future citizens got access to a life that ensured holistic wellness, which began with top-notch medical care.

Sujalaam Skycity is coming up a stone’s throw away from City Center Durgapur, which is already renowned for excellent medical institutions such as The Mission Hospital, DSP Main Hospital, Vivekananda Hospital, ESI Hospital, Disha Eye Care, IQ City Medical College and IQ City Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital.

While surrounded by such a bevy of first-rate healthcare institutes, Sujalaam Skycity is creating a healthcare cluster, which will have a set of hospitals and medical facilities right within its own premises.

The Mission Hospital is coming up with a new chapter within the precincts of the aerotropolis. Dr. Satyajit Bose, renowned cardiac surgeon and the founder of The Mission Hospital, believes Sujalaam Skycity will play a big role in boosting healthcare industry in the region. “For me, the airport is the game changer. That’s why we decided to set up Mission Hospital in Sujalaam. The airport will help us connect better with patients and specialists and play a big role in promoting medical tourism in the area,” he said.

Moreover, Sujalaam will also have its own nursing training institute, which is now being set up by the Heritage Foundation.  – a more-than-300-bed multispecialty hospital spread over three acres.

While Sujalaam Skycity is gearing up to chart a history of developed, state-of-the-art, affluent Bengal, it hasn’t forgotten that true wealth, without a doubt, is health.

It’s time to fly: Zoom Air schedules and fare structure

Zoom Air, in spite of being a premium full-service airline, has a fare structure that rivals the railways’. Its timings also perfectly suit the needs of commuters flying to and out of Durgapur. Have a look at the charts below to know more:

 

Airfare Comparison Chart:

Rail Fare (in Rs)	Zoom Air Fare (in Rs)
Kolkata to Durgapur (Shatabdi Express, Executive Chair Car): 1025	Kolkata to Durgapur: Starting from 850
Durgapur to Delhi (Rajdhani Express, AC 2-tier): 2675	Durgapur to Delhi: Starting from 2850

 

 

 

Flight Schedule:

Delhi to Durgapur:

Flight	Departure	Arrival
ZO101	Delhi – 07:35	Kolkata – 09:35
ZO301	Kolkata – 10:05	Durgapur – 10:40

Durgapur to Delhi:

Flight	Departure	Arrival
ZO301	Durgapur – 11:10	Delhi – 13:10

 

The airline allows cabin baggage that fall within the stipulated dimensions of 34 cm in length, 10 cm in width and 20 cm in height.  It permits all passengers, both adults and children (2+ years), to carry 15 kilos of registered baggage individually.

 

During these very early days of its existence, India’s newest and 10^th full-service commuter airline hubs over New Delhi and Kolkata with Mumbai and Hyderabad in the offing, offering convenient daily connections between city pairs.

Development reaches for the skies at Sujalaam Skycity

The Skycity, which has become synonymous with Bengal’s bright future and stellar growth tomorrow, is giving tell-tale indications that the saga of all-round development has already begun.

To most of us, the first signs of development are always vertical. Once a column stands erect on the ground, or the foundations of a building is built, we know for sure that things are moving forward: finally, we can look forward to the future being wrought out of brick-and-mortar.

And going by that example, things are definitely moving forward in Sujalaam Skycity.

For starters, a great number and acreage of plots have been sold in the residential zone of the aerotropolis. To give you an idea, 81.4 acres, or more than 900 plots have already been purchased. Soon, bungalows, row houses and apartments will stand tall on those grounds and happy Skycitizens will throng the progressively colonized neighbourhoods.

While such developments have picked up pace at the residential area, there are a number of initiatives that have borne fruit on the institutional front.

On nearly 3 acres is coming up the Skycity’s very own global-standard educational institution, the Aerocity International School. Construction has already started for the institution, which is estimated to have 2000 students once it starts operations from April 2017.

The Narayana Group is also coming up with a school over 3.25 acres and, like the previous school mentioned, its construction has begun as well. A spiritual school, called Raj Vidya Kendra, has already started operating out of the aerotropolis.

Healthcare has also about to spread its roots deep within the soils of the Skycity, with the Heritage Foundation about to come up with its 100,000-sq-ft hospital within its precincts.

Among industrial facilities, Spectrum Logistics and Ardex Endura have already started operating from here. Their 5-acre and 3-acre units, respectively, have already etched Sujalaam Skycity’s name in the history of logistical and manufacturing sectors in Bengal in bold letters.

Bubna Commercial, a warehousing facility, and Laxmi Transport, each with a 2-acre property, have already begun construction, while National Transport Corporation, Keventers Agro and Bharat Gas Warehouse will soon start working on their individual facilities.

Clearly, development is no longer confined to printed words as far as Bengal’s very own Skycity is concerned.

Nourishing Bengal’s Economy: The Food Park at Sujalaam Skycity

Since its inception, Sujalaam Skycity has gone from strength to strength.

The latest feather in its proverbial cap is a proposed food park within its precincts, which, when set up, will be one of its kind in the state, if not the country.

The food park in Sujalaam Skycity will offer a host of benefits unique to the aerotropolis.

To begin with, industrial land in the park will be available at 50% of the price that one would have to pay in and around Kolkata. Also, the park will be located only 182 kilometers away from Kolkata, which means a three-hour drive from the city, right on National Highway 2.

This gives the food park a great vantage point; since such a central location would effectively open up a market not only in the surrounding districts, but the Northeast and Bangladesh as well.

These advantages will be further bolstered by an abundance of raw material in this area. The region is renowned for copious production of rice, flour, potato, sugar, fruits and vegetables. Therefore, raw material can be easily and locally procured here, bringing down logistical cost.

Also, the areas in and around the Burdwan district are already renowned as food processing hubs.

The existing cluster of units will go a long way towards developing the food processing industry at the Food Park in Sujalaam Skycity. Such units encompass various sectors such as rice mills, edible oil extraction and packaging, cereals and pulses and bakery items and employ nearly 5,000 people. This large workforce will be instrumental in setting up the cornerstones of the food processing industry in the park.

The Food Park at Sujalaam will also be supported by a world-class infrastructure. It will be part of an international-standard integrated Greenfield township with an airport and set up in a non-polluting industrial zone. Social infrastructure such as medical institutions, retail hubs, the hospitality industry, ultra-modern office spaces and affordable housing for labour will support it.

The park will be supplied with 17 million litres of water per day and powered by round-the-clock electricity.

Remaining true to its vision of creating a resurgent Bengal in the coming years, Sujalaam Skycity will leave no stone unturned in creating a niche for itself in the food industry as well.