Pre-puja date for New Town’s multi-level car park, solar dome, cycle velodrome roll-out
Times of India | 19 July 2024
Kolkata: The much-awaited solar dome project, a 250m cycle velodrome — the first of its kind in Bengal — and a multi-level car parking complex in New Town are nearing completion. Govt officials said that about 90% of the projects is done and they are expected to be complete by end of Sep. Housing infrastructure development corporation (Hidco), the implementing agency of the projects, has already initiated the process to engage a facility management firm for operation and maintenance of the solar dome and to guide visitors.Among the three projects, both the multi-level car parking and cycle velodrome have been included in the smart city projects scheme.
The 27m-high solar dome with a 45-m diameter is a truncated geodetic spherical dome that has active solar panels for continuous generation of solar power throughout the day. The dome has 2,086 solar panels of 150 watts and 200 watts that will produce 180 KWH of solar power, which will be used for its internal lighting and to power the surrounding street lights.
Inside the dome, the three floors of exhibition space will be connected with a spiral ramp for visitors to go up and a central lift will be used by visitors to return to the ground floor. The top floor will have a viewing gallery. With 50 TV displays, six LED tunnels, 30 projectors and six robots, the solar dome museum will provide an immersive experience of various energy sources, like hydro, tidal, wind, geothermal and solar, along with information on environmental awareness and sustainable practices.
The facility management firm will operate the displays and models of renewable energy, as well as the videos that will be played. The firm will also run and maintain the interactive displays, which include quiz and online games, along with the kids’ zone in the museum.
The bicycle velodrome will have a 250-m circular track for cycle races. There are also plans to have facilities for skating in the central open area on the ground floor of the velodrome, surrounding which the cycle tracks will run.
The multi-tier car parking complex will be able to accommodate about 1,600 vehicles and will have a cafeteria and food joints.