The construction company that helped rebuild the airports of Mumbai and Chennai will now be seen bringing down the famous stands of the Eden Gardens. As part of its bid to give the world-renowned stadium a makeover ahead of the 2011 World Cup, the CAB has roped in Chennai-based Advanced Construction Technologies (ACT) Pvt Ltd for razing the outdated stands of Eden.

The Jagmohan Dalmiya-led administration is shelling out Rs 69.75 lakh to the construction giant for carrying out the demolition job. The four most ill-maintained stands of the stadium — blocks B, C, K, and L — will be pulled down, starting September 7. And the CAB has set a 70-day deadline for ACT to carry out the demolition of the four stands, which is the first phase of the makeover process.

“We are going about this makeover job one step at a time. The first step is the demolition process. The four stands will be pulled down. After that’s done, we will call fresh tender for the next phase, which will be for building brand new stands,” explained CAB joint-secretary Bishwarup Dey.

Although outsourced demolition jobs aren’t popular in the Kolkata Maidan, the Chennai-based construction company has an impressive track record, and no wonder the CAB is spending big bucks. Apart from helping in the makeover of the airports in Mumbai and Chennai, ACT is associated with selling construction equipment for Volvo’s Sweden headquarters.

The rebuilding of Eden’s stands was long overdue, and the CAB has been under the scanner for the shabby, age-old concrete stands ever since the IPL Twenty20 carnival came to town.

... contd.