Social Entrepreneur, Consultative Member of the United Nations ECOSOC, and Advisory Member of AACCI & AIFOD and Peace Ambassador of African Nations
The Business and Industry Conclave organized by the Mamata Banerjee government has not only attracted close to tIhe tune of INR 45,000 crore investment but has also gave a clear indication that Bengal industrialisation is booming and is in the right direction.
The conclave witnessed coming back of a leading industry group to the state which was rooted in Bengal but left 50 years back, JK Group of Singhania’s. The largest cement producer in the country Ultratech of Aditya Birla group decided to augment its capacity here, JSW decided to double its capacity of the power plant at Salboni, making it the largest in eastern region, while CESC announced green power for Kolkata. There were investment proposals from ITC, Titagarh Group, KFW, XPRO and Texmaco. The conclave was attended by leading industrialists, including ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri, RPSG Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka, Universal Success chairman Prasoon Mukherjee, Ambuja Neotia Group chairman Harsh Neotia, JK Group director Chaitanya Hari Singhania and Dhunseri chairman CK Dhanuka, KFW principal portfolio manager Thomas Geitzen, Titagarh group vice chairman Umesh Chowdhary, Luxmi Group MD Rudra Chatterjee, Patton MD Sanjay Budhia, JSW Energy Jt MD and CEO Sharad Mahendra, XPRO chairman Siddharth Birla and World Bank representative Hoon Sahib Soh were present, among others.
The industrialists shared their experiences of working in the state in the presence of CM Mamata Banerjee. JSW Energy joint MD and CEO Sharad Mahendra announced that the group would invest in another 1,600 MW supercritical power plant at Salboni, taking the total capacity to 3,200 MW. The total investment of the group in power in Bengal would go up to Rs 40,000 crore, while incremental investment would be Rs 24,000 crore (with Rs 16,000 crore announced earlier).
“We have got environmental clearance for the first phase (800X2 MW). It would employ 3,000 people,” he said. He added that the company was in the process of acquiring a supercritical boiler manufacturing facility in Durgapur, the only such plant in the east. ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri said five more hotels are in the pipeline, and the company was looking for land in Darjeeling, Kurseong, and the Sunderbans.Umesh Chowdhary of Titagarh Rail Systems said the company was planning to manufacture 1,000 metro coaches and Vande Bharat coaches at its Uttarpara facility, making it one of the largest outside China.
Prasoon Mukherjee, who flew in from Singapore last night for the conclave, said he has already started work on the data centre announced last year.Singhania said the JK Group, which was born in Bengal, was returning to its roots. “After a gap of five decades, we shall start manufacturing activity in Bengal. We are setting up two new plants in Kharagpur for milk processing and potato processing,” he added.
As a whole the Business Conclave ushered in lot of hope for a resurgent Bengal.
