The meet and greet event organised by the Bengal government after the Puja holidays every year threw up a surprise on Wednesday when the state formally issued the letter of award to Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) for the development of Tajpur port.

Karan Adani, CEO of the company and the son of the world’s second richest individual Gautam Adani, was present at the Eco Park in Rajarhat where the event took place to accept the LoA on behalf of the company.

The issuance of LoA marked the formal intimation of the decision taken by the state cabinet to award the Rs 15,000 crore port project to Adani Group.

The document was handed over by industry minister Shashi Panja to Karan in the presence of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, chief secretary H. K. Dwivedi, and industry secretary and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation chairman Vandana Yadav.

In her short speech, Mamata thanked the Adani group for their interest in Tajpur port, expressing hope that the infrastructure project would usher in an industrial resurgence in Bengal.

The chief minister also informed the audience, which included top industrialists from Bengal, how some of the key industry-related projects — Deocha Pachami coal mine, gas pipeline, industrial zone along freight corridors — are coming up in the state.

Late at night Karan Adani tweeted: “Elated to share that @Adaniports has signed a LoI for Tajpur Port, West Bengal’s 1st Deep Sea Port. We’re poised to build not just a port but a complete infrastructural ecosystem which will become a maritime gateway for the entire Eastern India.”

Adani emerged as the top bidder in an open tender for the port, piping JSW Infrastructure, the only other bidder, by a thin margin in the middle of March.

However, the state cabinet accorded its stamp of approval only on September 19 after legal challenges surrounding APSEZ’s eligibility in public tenders were cleared by the Supreme Court.

A concession agreement will now be signed between APSEZ and West Bengal Maritime Board to take the project forward.

Project detail

The port, to be developed under design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis, will come up near Tajpur in East Midnapur district.

The port is expected to have a draught of 12.1 meter with an 18km channel. With tidal support of 3.9 metres, the port will have a 16-metre draught capable of handling a cape-size vessel of 1 lakh DWT.

The port will entail an investment of Rs 15,000 crore while the related infrastructure development will involve another Rs 10,000 crore.

A release by the state government said 25,000 direct jobs will be created, while the potential for indirect jobs may be 1 lakh. When developed, Tajpur would be Bengal’s first greenfield port in five decades.