Riverside hypermarket project called off

KOLKATA: Reliance Retail’s plans for setting up a hypermart, spread across 1.5 lakh sq ft at the Calcutta Riverside, has been called off.

The Reliance hypermart was supposed to have started operations by 2010, by when
the Calcutta Riverside project is targeted to reach completion as well.

Riverbank Holdings was slated to hand over the retail space to Reliance by October 2009 for the various fitments.

However, Sumit Dabriwal, managing director, Riverbank Holdings, told DNA Money:
“We mutually terminated the letter of intent (LoI) many weeks back and agreed not to do the stores as per our previous agreement.”

The Reliance hypermart was supposed to anchor the Esplandade mall while two speciality retail outlets - a 30,000 sq ft furniture and lifestyle store and a 20,000 sq ft outlet for electronics and computer peripherals, were also on the anvil, according to reports.

Citing “several reasons” behind the termination of the LoI, Dabriwal declined to discuss them, merely adding: “Things didn’t work out strategically.”

But Riverbank Holdings has not abandoned the idea of the hypermart and is now keen to go ahead and ally with another retail player.