New vistas

Calcutta, April 23: Paharpur Cooling Towers Ltd, the Calcutta- based engineering company, has entered into real estate development in a big way.

Paharpur, the largest cooling tower manufacturer in the country, is developing one of the biggest housing projects in Calcutta. Located on the Diamond Harbour Road, close to the Indian Institute of Management, Joka, the project is offering 2,000 residential housing units.

“We see a great opportunity in real estate in Calcutta. This is our maiden project. Hopefully, it will establish the company’s credential as a real estate developer,” managing director of PCTL Vikram Swarup said.

The project, called Genxx Valley, will pave the way for many other real estate ventures of the company, Swarup said.

“We are looking at commercial complex and IT parks as well,” he added.

The company also plans to pursue opportunities, in a public-private partnership model, with the state government for housing projects.

While Paharpur has managed to sell one third of Genxx Valley, slated to be completed by the first quarter of 2008, it is now working on a mall next to the housing project. Spread over 2.5-3 lakh square feet, it will be developed as a destination mall.

“There is no organised retailing in Behala. We want to develop it as a destination mall. With the Taratolla flyover now in place, many people from Alipore can also visit the place,” he added.

The land for the mall has been acquired already.

Asked whether diversification into an unrelated area poses any risk for Paharpur, Swarup pointed out that the project management and civil construction skills from cooling tower business were very useful in the construction work.