Mamata meets Gautam Adani, investment scenarios discussed

Kolkata: Chairman and founder of Adani Group Gautam Adani held a meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna on Thursday and discussed "different investment scenarios".

It was at around 4.30 pm when Adani reached Nabanna and the meeting continued for around an hour. According to sources, Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was also present.

Praising the investment scenario in Bengal, Adani stated that he is looking forward to attend the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) to be held in April 2022.

"Delighted to meet @MamataOfficial, Hon'ble Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Discussed different investment scenarios and the tremendous potential of West Bengal. I look forward to attending the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in April 2022," Adani tweeted.

Currently, around 27 percent of the market share in the country's port sector is under the Adani Group.

The Bengal government has also floated an expression of interest to develop a deep sea port at Tajpur and 1200 acres of land at Dadanpatrabar in East Midnapore has already been identified to initiate its development at the earliest. In such a scenario, the meeting of the Chief Minister with the group's chairman gains immense significance.

The Centre seems to be considering to privatise Haldia Port in the coming days. Being the biggest private player in the port sector, Adani Group is also keen to run the port.

The group's port business is run by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) and in October it has already emerged as the top bidder to operate a berth at Haldia Dock Complex with the provision of end-to-end mechanisation. It would lead to an investment of around Rs 300 crore and mark the group's foray into the port sector in Bengal.

The Chief Minister's meeting with the top industrialist comes when she has announced to make Bengal number one in industry and commerce and introduced a series of new industry-friendly policies to attract more investments to the state.

Banerjee on Thursday returned from Mumbai where she attended the Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) meeting and urged industrialists to "invest in Bengal without fear" as militant trade unionism is a matter of the past and it is now the ideal destination for investment.