Taking chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s dream of transforming Kolkata into London a step forward, the West Bengal government and the City of London will sign a memorandum of understanding through which the UK-based financial and professional service institutions will invest in the infrastructure sector of the city.
The priority sector for the City of London will be roads, ports, airport and skill development. When asked what sort of a role it is going to play in the conversion of Kolkata into London, Michael David Bear, Lord Mayor of the City of London, said, “We have asked for the details of all the priority projects that will make a difference to your city. I am here with a very strong delegation looking at infrastructure and financing infrastructure. We will be taking the information back and will see how the projects can be bankable and investible.” He was speaking on the sidelines of an infrastructure seminar in the city on Thursday.
Later in the day, Bear met the state industry and commerce minister, Partha Chatterjee, finance minister, Amit Mitra, and urban development minister Firhad Hakim. “We are looking into the opportunities of developing Kolkata into a financial hub. Even riverside development plans are under consideration,” he said. Both the parties chalk out a roadmap and sign a memorandum of understanding soon. Bear, who is in charge of the financial sector in the UK, added that UK wants to be a partner of Kolkata by choice and will assist in developing the city into a financial hub. Considering the preservation of age-old buildings in Kolkata, he said, “The city had similar challenges that we had in London in creating a new city in a historic area. We have the expertise on that. We should protect and respect the old that create the new.”
According to Hakim,the proposals by the delegation will be presented before the Cabinet and will take a decision on it. “They are keen to invest on drainage, slum and road development projects here. And are also keen on our green city plans,” he said.