Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured ITC Chairman YC Deveshwar that her government would provide any cooperation necessary for more such projects in the future.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured ITC Chairman YC Deveshwar that her government would provide any cooperation necessary for more such projects in the future.
She also stressed on the need to cooperate with the industry to take the state on a growth path.
“Let us not disturb the industry. Let us fully cooperate with them. When the world is moving ahead, Bengal cannot afford to sit back. Collective interest is bigger than individual interest,” Mamata said.
She was speaking after laying the foundation stone of an integrated consumer goods manufacturing unit at Panchla in Howrah and an IT Park at Rajarhat near Kolkata.
ITC Chairman Deveshwar said that the West Bengal government was unable to provide the group with contiguous plots.
“We had asked for 60 acres, but we got 40 acres at one place and another 18 acres at another. If we want to expand and increase production, it is more beneficial to get contiguous plots," he said.
"For instance, we want to set up a cold chain and start manufacturing frozen foods. Right now we simply don’t have the land for that,” said Deveshwar
If ITC gets better opportunities elsewhere, the group would expand outside the state, he added.
ITC would engage more with the West Bengal farmers, Deveshwar said, adding that it was experimenting with a special variety of seeds, which will not absorb moisture. ITC is also developing a special kind of potato seeds.
The ITC facility at Panchla is spread over 800,000 feet and will manufacture packaged foods, including noodles and potato chips, and is expected to be commissioned by January next year.
The facility at Uluberia is being built over 400,000 square feet and is likely to be completed by May 2016.
The IT park at Rajarhat will come up in phases over 27 lakh square feet of built up space. The project to be completed by 2018, will create direct employment for 5,000 people.
The ITC is further developing a Royal Bengal hotel next to the Shonar Bangla hotel in Kolkata. With an investment of INR 1000 crores, the new hotel is set to be ready by the end of next year.
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