There may be a couple of small sporting centres around the country, but the one that West Bengal has planned should tower above all.

It is being called the 'Sports Township', which will be, besides being a normal township with housing facilities for the public, a comprehensive sporting centre with infrastructure for all kinds of games and leisure activities.

There would be cricket and football stadiums, swimming pools, badminton, tennis, basketball courts, indoor stadiums, gymnasiums, hostels, hotels and restaurants.

"The infrastructure would be enough to hold multi-discipline competitions," according to West Bengal Urban Development ministry sources.

The sports township will come up on 150-acres of land to the east of Kolkata – a vast stretch of fallow land that is rapidly developing and is set to become a satellite township of the metropolis.

The state government is looking for private investors for the venture, and a possible partner could be a conglomerate of Australian banks and former Aussie cricket captain Steve Waugh.

Waugh last month brought a team of bank officials from Down Under and held discussions with the state government on investment possibilities in development projects.

Waugh, who will return next month for more discussions, showed an interest in the sports township and in building luxury golf courses.