Adani to double its Rs 750 cr investment in Bengal in five years

Kolkata, Jan 17 (IANS) Adani Group, which is expecting to double the capacity of its edible oil refinery at Haldia in West Bengal, will double its current investment of Rs 750 crore in the state to Rs 1,500 crore in the next five years, a company official said here on Wednesday.

"Currently our investments in West Bengal are in excess of Rs 750 crore and we expect to double the investment over the next five years. Over past five years, we have doubled up our capacity from 800 metric tonnes to 1,600 metric tonnes per day, making our edible oil refinery in Haldia, one of the largest in the country. We expect a further doubling of our capacity over the next five years," said Adani Enterprises Ltd's Director Pranav Adani said.

In his address at the Bengal Global Business Summit's second and last day, he said the state is already a critical part of the success of the group's agriculture business.

He said the group has already created over 4,500 direct and indirect jobs in West Bengal, an increase of over 50 per cent over last five years.

"Over the same period, we have expanded out packaging capacity from 1,200 metric tonnes per day to 1,800 metric tonnes a day and are adding new product lines like pulses, soya and many other food product lines.

"We currently distribute to over 36,000 retail outlets in West Bengal and expect this footprint to double in next five years," Adani said.

According to him, in addition to manufacturing and packaging, the group is also planning to bring in its large expertise in agri-logistics and warehousing that is expected to directly benefit the farmers of the state.

He also said the group is keen to step in port sector in the state if the opportunity is given to it.

"Given Bengal's position as the gatewayay connecting Southeast Asia and Northeast India, we look forward to bring in our expertise to the state of West Bengal. We believe we can revolutionise the entire port scenario in the state and make it a massive driver to the economic growth. If given an opportunity, we would like to replicate our Mundra port that we have in Kutch in West Bengal," he said.

Given an opportunity, the group can further enable the energy scenario in the state by bringing to the forefront its renewable power and transmission expertise in addition to its thermal power generation capabilities, Adani added.