Amid speculations of Adani Group backing out of the Tajpur Port project in West Bengal after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's tender invitation comment, state minister for industries, commerce and enterprises Sashi Panja said the project is very much on track and talks are underway with the Adani Group.

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Addressing a press conference on Sunday on account of 'West Bengal Day', when asked about Adani Group's absence from the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), Panja said that talks with the Adani Group and Bengal government are still on and that the company was provided with a provisional Letter of Intent (LoI) for the Tajpur Port project.

"There was a provisional LoI which was granted to the highest bidder of the Tajpur project. The requisite permissions were then sought from four departments of the government of India. All other permissions from the Government of India, including Defence, Shipping, Home and External Affairs departments were also under process. The Adani Group is waiting for a letter of award (LoA) from the West Bengal government," she said.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs had offered conditional security and reverted to the Bengal Government with some observations, the clarifications of which we have asked for," Panja said.

When asked about Opposition speculating on the issue over the development of the project, the minister called them 'baseless allegations'

"They do not know the status of the project, and the progress of the discussions with Adani Group on the deep sea port. They are speaking out of order," she said.

During the BGBS summit held recently, CM Banerjee said: “The proposed first deep sea port at Tajpur is ready. You can participate in the tender. It will attract an investment of about $3 billion, meaning ₹25,000 crore,”

(Edited by : Amrita)

First Published:Nov 28, 2023 12:05 PM IST