Refurbished Minerva theatre, on Beadon Street, in north Calcutta, will be opened in November by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, said the CPM parliamentarian from Calcutta North West, Sudhanshu Sil, on Monday.

“Renovation of the century-old theatre is complete. We shall finalise the date of opening in a day or two, as soon as the chief minister gives us time,” he added.

Sil earlier discussed the inaugural programme with Asok Bhattacharya, the state urban development minister, at Writers’ Buildings on Monday afternoon. A meeting has been convened on October 2 to work out the details of the inaugural programme.

Sil said the government had purchased the theatre from a developer for Rs 5 crore three years ago. The Calcutta Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) spent another Rs 5 crore to renovate the building, keeping its heritage features intact. Dulal Mukherjee and Associates was assigned the renovation job.

The restored three-storeyed building will house an archive named after theatre personality Utpal Dutt on the second floor, besides a library for research scholars. The auditorium is on the ground and first floors. The number of seats has been reduced from 750 to 550.