Videocon to invest more in Bengal

Kolkata: The diversified Videocon group has announced an additional investment of Rs 6,000 crore in West Bengal over and above the Rs 16,000 crore projects in the pipeline.

Emerging from a meeting with the West Bengal chief minister, Venugopal Dhoot said, two knowledge parks would be set up at Kalyani and Siliguri. The investment in each of the parks would be Rs 3,000 crore.

The estimated cost for land acquisition is Rs 200 crore for Kalyani and Rs 100 crore for Siliguri.

The land requirement in each of the projects would be around 500 acres.

Land acquisition in most of Videocon's projects in Bengal were underway.

Dhoot said, construction for the steel plant would commence before the festive season and the company would have the land in possession by then.

The land requirement in the Rs 15,000 crore project is 4,000 acres. Videocon is purchasing the land directly from the farmers.

The company has applied for coal blocks for the project and is awaiting the central government's nod.

Another project, the IT special economic zone (SEZ) at Siliguri, had also made progress.

Dhoot said, by March next year, the project would employ 500 workers.

Construction had already commenced.

The IT SEZ would have a voice-based BPO and an in-house IT service facility.