Ambani in, Adani out from West Bengal due to ‘political compulsion’

New Delhi: Ambani in, Adani out - this was the take away from the opening day of Bengal Global Business Summit in Kolkata on Tuesday. 

While West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee snatched Tajpur port from Adani Group and announced the tender open owing to ‘political compulsion’ known to the entire country, Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani committed an additional Rs 20,000-crore investment for the state over the next three years.

Adani Group was abscent from the summit and this led to murmurs about the growing distance between Gautam Adani and Banerjee due to recent political developments including sustained targeting of Adani by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and TMC MP Mahua Moitra.

Mamata government had previously stated that Tajpur port would be developed by Adani group.

The project initially was intended for Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) in October 2022 as they were the L1 bidder out of two final bids received. JSW Group was also a contender in that round of bidding.

Addressing the delegates at the ongoing Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), Banerjee said there are 12 "game-changing opportunities" in Bengal.
"First is the proposed deep-sea port at Tajpur, which is ready for tender. You can participate in the tender, and this will attract an investment of USD 3 billion or Rs 25,000 crore," she said.

Sources said that Adani Port has "not backed" out and is waiting for the Letter of Award, the next document required to proceed on the ground post the letter of Intent to Award (LOIA) handed over in the past. 

The LoIA was handed over to Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ, by Banerjee herself in October 2022.

With Banerjee announcing fresh tender for Rs 28,000-crore Tajpur port, Adani is apparently out of the state amid current political scenario.

On the other hand, Banerjee and Ambani were posing for photo op at the summit. 

Ambani said the fresh investment will be in the areas of digital life solutions, retail and bio-energy.

"We plan to invest an additional Rs 20,000 crore in Bengal in the next three years for enhancing digital life solutions, augmenting Reliance Retail footprint and on bio-energy," he said adding that the Reliance Industries has invested close to Rs 45,000 crore in the last few years in the state.

"Reliance will leave no stone unturned to accelerate Bengal's growth," he asserted.

Other than Ambani, Energy baron Sanjeev Goenka and Wipro’s Rishad Premji were among the business tycoons who attended the summit.

The Bengal Global Business Summit, an annual affair, is being attended by several hundred companies from 17 countries.