The global conglomerate, Aditya Birla Group will invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up a paint making unit in Kharagpur Vidyasagar Industrial Park
Aditya Birla Group will invest around Rs 1,000 crore in West Bengal to set up a paint hub that will potentially generate at least 600 direct employment opportunities.
The global conglomerate which had recently ventured into the paint business had earlier written to the Bengal CM expressing their interest in setting up the plant here. According to the statement released by the West Bengal Industry department, the group expressed their desire to set the manufacturing unit in Bengal on October 4.
The top group officials met HK Diwedi
The government sources have said that the group’s top officials have met the chief secretary, HK Diwedi, on Thursday.
The statement also said, “The Group has shown interest to set up a water-based and solvent and has requested for allotment of land for decorative paint unit with backward integration on 80 acres in Vidyasagar Park. The Paint Unit itself would employ 600 people and indirectly employ for over 1,500 people would be created.”
The ABG conglomerate will also set up the few ancillary units in the state. The factory will be built in Kharagpur Vidyasagar Industrial Park and will be commissioned within 24 months.
The investment is likely to be done by Grasim, whose board of directors had earlier approved the foray into the sector with a capital expenditure of Rs 5,000 crores for over three years.
Industries in Bengal
The cry for establishing industries in Bengal is not new, and it became one of the most uncomfortable election agendas for the ruling party. In response to that, the state has set up a silicon valley. According to reports and government sources, companies like Wipro, Google and other tech giants were planning to set up offices in the valley.
Around 80% of Kolkata’s population is involved in the tertiary sector. Incidentally, the state capital was once called the paint hub of the nation as it housed the head offices of Shalimar Paints, Berger Paints and others.
As a part of the election manifesto, the government had promised to set up several other industrial parks and manufacturing industries to boost the employment rate.