Bengal govt gives nod to Rs 3,000-cr Kulpi Port project

Kolkata: The Bengal government is all set to revive the Kulpi Port project at an estimated cost of Rs 3,000 crore that is tipped to generate a minimum of 10,000 jobs.

The proposal to revive the Kulpi Port that has been lying defunct for almost a decade was cleared during the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday.

The Bengal government had received the proposal of investment during the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in January this year.

"The port has been lying defunct for 10-12 years. Kulpi, a riverine port, would see a minimum investment of Rs 3,000 crore. The figure may go up to even Rs 4,000-Rs 5,000 crore in the process. We are happy to inform you that at least 10,000 jobs would be created once the ancillary industries would come up centering around the port," state Finance and industry minister Amit Mitra said at Nabanna on Thursday.

He also clarified that there will be no accusation of lands and the proposal of an SEZ status had already been denied by the government. There will be a huge number of indirect employment at the port, Mitra added.

It may be mentioned that Dubai-based DP World had proposed to invest in the project during this year's BGBS and the Chief Minister had readily accepted the proposal. There had been many discussions on the project for the past five years. According to the initial plans, there is a possibility of developing a long-pending container port.

The proposed port in South 24-Parganas may be developed as an industrial zone around the new maritime infrastructure similar to Haldia and Kolkata.

DP World will have 74 percent stake in Kulpi Port while the Bengal government will own the remaining 26 percent. The Bengal government also has a stake in an associated project where an industrial park is expected to come up around the port area. The state government had earlier received statutory clearance on the Kulpi Port project in the South 24-Parganas. The officials of the state government believe that it will attract good investments.

It may be mentioned here that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier said that the state will develop the Tajpur deep sea port on its own, as the Centre did "nothing" to start work on the project in the past three years.