Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal with CM Suvendu Adhikari at Nabanna on Wednesday
Kolkata: The Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group is keen to invest Rs 70,000-80,000 crore in Bengal in the field of power and aluminium over the next three-four years. If it materialises, this will be the $30-billion group’s first investment in the state. The group’s subsidiary, BALCO, holds about 270 acres in Bidhanbag.
“The CM is a very forceful young man, very dynamic and enthusiastic and wanted us to invest here,” Agarwal told reporters. He said the group has some land in Bidhanbag near Asansol where it can set up the project, or elsewhere if it can get land. Group chairman Agarwal met chief minister Suvendu Adhikary at Nabanna on Wednesday, where the proposal was discussed.
Agarwal said such a project has huge employment potential (about 30,000-40,000 jobs taking into account aluminium downstream projects, say experts). Adhikari said the Vedanta Group’s plant in Asansol could create 10,000 employment opportunities. During Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s tenure as CM, the Vedanta Group had proposed a Rs 20,000-crore industrial project at Bidhanbag involving a smelter unit and a captive power plant but the project did not see the light of day.
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The Vedanta chairman said the Bidhanbag land used to house the oldest aluminium factory in Asia at one point, though it closed down later. He said the state govt has assured them of land, coal and water. “I have assured him of all support and cooperation,” he said. Earlier, during an interaction with ICC president Parthiv Neotia, Agarwal, who spent a part of his early life in Kolkata, said Bengal has everything from culture and skill to water and he believes the state will now make a turnaround.
“We would like to see the state govt’s keenness and commitment. To start with, we would do a feasibility study,” he added. “There will be scope for several downstream projects by others once there is an aluminium smelter plant. We can bring aluminium from Odisha (where it has a plant),” he added. Download the TOI App.