ITC's Rs 300cr WB cigarette unit may be delayed

The Left Front has one more reason to be upset with the shipping ministry, which has already irked Left MPs by shifting the apex marine training college to Chennai at the expense of the existing college in Kolkata.

This time round, the ministry was reportedly sitting on the proposal forwarded by Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) to hand over to the company a plot of surplus land contiguous to the existing ITC cigarette factory in the port area in west Kolkata.

In consequence, the investment plan of ITC to expand the Kidderpore cigarette factory at a cost of Rs 300 crore may be delayed.

The shipping ministry was yet to respond to the plan to let the company use KoPT land.

ITC had planned to start its Kidderpore cigarette facility expansion before March 31, but it is likely to be delayed.

ITC had lined up major expansion plans which included investing Rs 1,200 crore in the eastern region alone to build a farm produce sourcing chain, horticultural model farms and new hotels.

ITC is looking for land to build hotels in three eastern states including Bengal, along with addition of 200-odd rooms at the ITC Sonar Bangla Hotel in Kolkata.

ITC is also working to take over the land and infrastructure currently occupied by the closed state government enterprise called Lily Biscuits on the outskirts of Kolkata.