Singapore-based Surbana Jurong on Tuesday won the prestigious bid to design the ambitious Bhubaneswar Town Centre (BTC) project, which is going to be the first such transit-oriented development (TOD) project in the country.
The innovative design for the iconic BTC project will cost over Rs 8 crore. The project is being developed by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) in an area of around 12 acres. As the project site shares its location with the city’s main railway station within the Bhubaneswar Town Centre Smart District, both the East Coast Railways and the Bhubaneswar Smart City limited will be important stakeholders to be involved and consulted throughout the course of the project implementation.
Competing with two other shortlisted major design firms of the world, the Singapore-based company won the bid with its unique blend of contemporary designs and traditional temple building architecture as the State capital is known for its Kalingan temple building style.
The 12-acre site, located on the west side of the railway tracks at the Master Canteen Square, is accessible directly from the city’s main commercial spine-Janpath. The BTC project will primarily have elements like theatre plaza, retail and malls, nature plaza, landscape, town plaza, art plaza, experience plaza and children’s plaza.
“This will also have food courts, service apartments, pedestrianised streets along with dedicated pedestrian and cycling paths and the entire project would have an interactive as well as innovative environment,’’ said Additional Commissioner-Cum-Member Enforcement, BDA, Bhabani Shankar Chayani.
The multi-modal transit hub will include railway station, bus terminal, multi-level car parking, pedestrian plaza, convention centre, performance plaza, kids play area, art gallery, bicycle and pedestrian bridge, office building and last but not the least dedicated pick up and drop off lanes for taxi aggregators and auto-rickshaws.