BCCI to help state sell Bengal to investors

Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) is chalking out a strategy to market the eastern region as an investment destination, Biswadip Gupta, president, and Aniruddha Lahiri, vice president of BCCI, said here today.

The trade body would draft a package that would highlight the potential sectors for investment in the region in association with the state government.

As the next logical step, BCCI and the state government would conduct roadshows in different parts of the country to showcase the region.

Lahiri however, clarified that BCCI could only act as a catalyst and the move required active involvement from the state.

To woo investors to West Bengal, the eastern region would have to be sold as a whole to investors. Lahiri said, if required BCCI would also hire professional help to draft the package.

The initiative was spearheaded by the perception committee of BCCI set up under the leadership of Lahiri to work in co-operation with the government of West Bengal to address the issue of perception and to undertake the state's image management.

As part of the initiative, BCCI had already started work on Durgapur and north Bengal. Gupta said BCCI's initiative resulted in a number of companies evincing interest in Durgapur with investments in lifestyle, health and education. The investors included Pantaloons and Mainland China, among others.

BCCI had helped in bringing in a Rs 75 crore steel unit in Cooch Behar. North Bengal had tremendous potential of tourism and in the current year BCCI planned to work closely with the government of West Bengal to take steps to harness this.

Gupta said the next stop would be Kharagpur. Further, BCCI had initiated discussions with the central government to bring Taratalla industrial belt under the cluster scheme so as to convert this area into a manufacturing hub.