The RPG group today announced an investment of Rs 1,250 crore for three new initiatives - a shopping mall, a management institute and a power station - in Kolkata.Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman of RPG Enterprises, said work on all the three projects would commence soon.RPG has formed a joint venture with Godrej Properties for the construction of the mall. While RPG would be providing the land, Godrej would bear the construction cost. RPG would use the three-acre Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) property on Syed Amir Ali Avenue for the project. Goenka said the investment in the project would be in the region of Rs 175 crore. The move also marks the entry of the Adi Godrej group to Kolkata.The built-up area of the project, to be called the CESC-Godrej Plaza, would be four lakh square feet. The project is scheduled for completion in 2008.The group would be foraying into the international management science space with its International Management Institute. Goenka said this was his "pet " project. It would be built on another three-acre plot owned by the group in Alipore, Kolkata. Estimated to cost Rs 40 crore, the institute would be built to initially accomodate 100 students. The institute would be ready for the 2008 session, and students would be admitted on the basis of their performance in the common admission test.In the third initiative, the RPG-promoted CESC would add a 250 megawatt power plant to the existing 500 MW thermal power station at Budge Budge at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.Work would begin by June-end 2006 and the target date for completion had been kept at 33 months from the date of commencement, Goenka said. The company, however, was yet to receive the environment clearance certificate.RPG operates 1,000MW capacity in West Bengal through existing CESC power plants. CESC is aiming at increase it to 2,250MW with the new unit at Budge Budge and one at Haldia, which would have a capacity of 1,000MW, Goenka said. RPG was also putting up a power plant in Jharkhand and planning one in Orissa, he added.
