By IANS
Kolkata : After billionaire L.N. Mittal of ArcelorMittal, the $12.4-billion Hinduja Group is considering investments in a proposed chemical hub in West Bengal.
“We are interested in the chemical space in West Bengal. We have some big plans in India in the oil and gas sector,” Hinduja Group India Ltd vice-chairman Subir Raha has said.
The Hinduja group has communicated its interest to West Bengal Industry Minister Nirupam Sen. The minister met Ashok Hinduja and Subir Raha in Mumbai last week.
The Hindujas are based out of London and Mumbai, and according to the Sunday Times newspaper’s rich list of 2007 are cumulatively worth $12.4 billion.
West Bengal has identified Nayachar Island in East Midnapore district as the alternative site for a 10,000-acre chemical hub after a failed bid at Nandigram where the communist government met with stiff resistance over land acquisition.
The interest shown by the Hindujas has come as a boost to the state’s proposed Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) in Nayachar, which is an island in the Hooghly river, off Haldia’s petrochemical hub.
The state government has been approaching all players in the oil and gas sector to invest in the proposed chemical hub.
Sen also met Reliance’s Mukesh Ambani during his Mumbai trip, while in Kolkata, steel baron L.N. Mittal recently met Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and hinted at his interest in the chemical hub.
The state government is also planning to directly inviting bids for developing a deep-sea port in the state.
Industrialists Sajjan Jindal of Jindal Steel and Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot, both of whom are making massive investments in the state, have expressed their desire to set up a deep-sea port in West Bengal.
“If bids are sought from developers, they may come up with different offers. We will choose one of them,” said Sen.
The industry minister said the port would be critical for the state’s industrial development and since years have been lost already, the present system of appointing consultants for detailed studies and finalisation of location might be done away with.
West Bengal is witnessing a surge in investments.
According to the findings of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India’s (Assocham) Investment Metre (AIM), West Bengal has topped the league of Indian states in attracting investments powered by ample potential in steel and oil sectors.
These investments totalled Rs.1.27 trillion ($32 billion) in third quarter of the current financial year (2007-08).