West Bengal has significant growth drivers to attract business in the State. Rapid infrastructure development has improved the multi-modal transportation network in West Bengal. Furthermore, the focus on skill development has boosted Kolkata’s image as a business-friendly centre. These findings were released by CREDAI Bengal which released its study report conducted with knowledge partner CBRE. CREDAI Bengal is the West Bengal chapter of Confederation of the apex body of real estate developers in India. CBRE Group, on the other hand, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm and a Fortune 500 Company.
The report titled ‘West Bengal: A beacon of growth in the East’ at STATECON 2019, encapsulates the State’s enabling policy environment, an impetus to infrastructure growth and favourable business environment. These factors are helping West Bengal to attract business and investments in a big way.
Facts About West Bengal
A beacon of growth in the East’ West Bengal, is a compilation of key growth drivers shaping the State and are instrumental in crafting the future roadmap. There is a lot of potential to enrich itself from the business perspective in the State and opportunities to explore various areas of expansion of its business.
Kolkata is a major commercial and industrial hub of eastern India and is well connected with the rest of India via rail, road, air and water. West Bengal also boasts of having the country’s third-largest road coverage spanning more than 3 lakh km and is the second-largest metro rail network including India’s first underwater Metro tunnel.
Optimistic Outlook And Investment Opportunities
The country’s mega infrastructure projects are expected to further improve the city’s prospects as an investment destination. These include the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), Sagarmala project and inland waterways projects.
To encourage private investments across the country, the central government has identified select projects in all states across various segments. Real estate, infrastructure, auto, textile and transport are some sectors under this umbrella. These encourage private players to participate in these projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Several projects across the spectrum have been identified in West Bengal too for private investment. These include the USD 1.27 billion Pashchim Bardhaman-Purba Medinipur Expressway Project and the USD 889 million Bandu Nala Hydel Project in Purulia.
The State however still has a long way to go for investment opportunities when compared to other States.
Real Estate-Kolkata centric But Growth Towards Tier II Cities
Kolkata remains the primary real estate market. There is however an infrastructure push with examples of the Andal airport and the Silicon project. A positive policy scenario has propelled RE growth towards tier-II cities of Durgapur, Siliguri and Darjeeling which have been of interest investors over the years.
The Residential Sector – Expanding to newer horizons
From the 2000s onwards, new investment-grade residential properties were largely seen in the eastern region of the city which are Salt Lake and Rajarhat. These predominantly consisted of mid and high-end projects, plotted developments and townships.
High Growth Potential In Real Estate
Currently, Kolkata has about 7 million sq. ft. of organized retail space. Expanding city limits and a positive demographic dividend means that there is tremendous potential for growth in the retail sector.
Expert Speak
CREDAI Bengal President, Nandu Belani, President, CREDAI Bengal said, “We have designed the second of CREDAI Bengal Statecon 2019 as an interactive platform for the real estate stakeholders of the state. This year’s edition also assessed global practices that can be infused into our local set-ups. This will help to discuss emerging industry trends and deliberate on possible finance avenues in the backdrop of a liquidity crunch.” He also believed it would shed light on PropTech while learning from success stories of new entrepreneurs to understand it’s impact on the real estate industry and shift focus on emerging sectors in real estate.
While releasing the report, Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, India, South East Asia, Middle East and Africa, CBRE said, “The State’s large talent pool, transparent governance processes and much-improved social and physical infrastructure have made its position stronger as a veritable business hub.” Additionally, the real estate dynamics in West Bengal, especially in Kolkata, is at a stage wherein controlled supply is boosting absorption which in turn is further helping the state’s real estate growth trajectory. With the right policy incentives, West Bengal is expected to put itself on the global investment map in the near future.
The conference with the theme ‘Poised to Rebound’, STATECON 2019 witnessed participation from think- tanks, Government Officials, Policy Makers, Economists, Financial Institutions, Investors, Investment Bankers, Real Estate Developers and Industrialists.
