By IANS
Kolkata : Salim Group partner Prasun Mukherjee said Thursday the group’s proposed chemical hub will not be set up at trouble-torn Nandigram in East Midnapore district of West Bengal but at an alternative location provided by the state government.
West Bengal Industries Minister Nirupam Sen later said the state government had selected consultancy firm Mott McDonald for selecting the site for the proposed chemical hub and the job might be completed in a month’s time.
After an hour-long meeting with West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen, Mukherjee told reporters at state secretariat Writers’ Building that the government would provide an alternative location for the proposed chemical hub, but they would settle for the site after a feasibility study by the company.
“We will conduct a feasibility study after the government informs us about the new site,” Mukherjee, who is also the chief of Universal Success, said.
Indonesia ‘s Salim group executive director Beni Santoso was present at the meeting with the chief minister.
The land acquisition for the Salim Group’s chemical project was stalled after violent protests in Nandigram, about 150 km from here, where the project was initially planned.
“The state government said they will get back to us but we don’t know how soon it will happen,” Mukherjee said.
Sen said the government would probably sign a fresh agreement with the consortium led by the Salim Group for the project. During the meeting, representatives of the group reviewed various projects to be executed by them in the state. These include the Kolkata West International City in Howrah, a two-wheeler manufacturing unit in Uluberia and a logistics centre.
Sen said the government had obtained environmental clearance for the International City. Work on the two-wheeler unit will start in October, the minister said.
The state government had signed a historic deal last year with the Salim Group for investments up to Rs.200 billion (US$4.2 billion) in infrastructure development in the state.
The deal promised to change the face of the region with expressways, flyovers, bridges, townships and economic zones as well as a new port.
The agreement was signed between the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) and New Kolkata International Development, a company floated by the group with its collaborator Prasun Mukherjee’s Universal Success and the Gurgaon-based construction company Unitech.
The main projects under the agreement were a chemical hub and a multipurpose special economic zone and an industrial park for small and medium industries.
However, everything was stalled after farmers in Nandigram started a movement against land acquisition for the projects, leading to the death of 23 people.