Reliance make foray in Bengal with Rs 4,000-crore investment

Kolkata, Jun 21 (UNI) Making foray in West Bengal, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries today finalised an investment proposal of Rs 4,000 crore in retail sector and supply of natural gas to West Bengal.

'' We will set up an agro retail chain across all the districts and supply natural gas from Andhra basin to West Bengal with an investment between Rs 1,500 crore and 2,000 crore for each project,'' RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced after a nearly two-hour-long meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the state secretariat in Writers Building.

Describing West Bengal as one of the best competitive markets for agro retail business, Mr Ambani told reporters the primary focus of the proposed project would be linking farmers with consumers and transforming agro business into agro-processing.

The investment, earmarked for the project, would be made over a period of two to three years.

RIL also signed an agreement with West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation(WBIDC) for supplying natural gas, found in the Godavari basin in Andhra Pradesh, to Haldia in West Bengal through a pipeline running across Orissa.

Mr Ambani's investment announcement coincided the day the Left Front Government celebrated its 30 years of rule in the state.

The Chief Minister, who was with Mr Ambani, said the proposed agro-retail project would help the farmers as well as consumers of the state. The retail outlets would dot all the districts as well as Kolkata, he said.

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