Investments of nearly ₹1 lakh-crore are expected to be made in West Bengal in the coming days, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said here on Wednesday.

At the end of the first day of the Bengal Global Business Summit, Banerjee said: “Investors have committed nearly ₹41,600 crore in ports sector, while ₹12,000 crore has been pledged for mining projects. This apart there is an investment from SAIL also.”

MoUs signed

One of the major Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) to be signed was with the Union Shipping Ministry. The Ministry will invest around ₹12,000 crore in setting up a deep sea port at Sagar Islands in the South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, announced an investment to the tune of ₹12,500 crore in modernising highways between Kolkata and Siliguri. Other projects expected to be kicked off include a floating LNG terminal at Sandheads; and a KMDA and Kolkata Port Trust venture to construct Kolkata Eye (a Ferris wheel, like the one in London). Banerjee said Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has committed to invest around ₹40,000 crore in the State.

The investment comes in the wake of the State government resolving a dispute related to over 3,900 acres.

Faux pas

Apart from new MoUs, existing projects were re-initiated with fanfare. State Finance Minister Amit Mitra spoke highly of the upcoming Greenfield airport at Andal (185 km from Kolkata) but failed to point out that the project has been delayed for more than two years.

Though the construction was over in late 2012, and commercial commissioning was announced in 2013, the airport remained unused as there was a delay in removing a high-tension electricity cable.

It was decided that the airport will start operations in January this year, but that deadline too has passed. The project, in which Singapore’s Changi Airporats has a 26-per cent stake, is set to start operations in three-to-four months, Mitra said.

Similarly, a lot of fanfare surrounded the development of Deocha-Panchami coal block in Birbhum by West Bengal and five other States.

However, it was conveniently overlooked that the block was awarded nearly one-and-half years ago and all related formalities have been completed.

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