Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday virtually inaugurated the Rs 570-crore Dhunseri Poly Films plant at Panagarh.

“C.K. Dhanuka is present at the Dhunseri plant in the Panagarh Industrial Park. They will start operations from today. I want to thank them all. This will generate employment for a lot of people,” the chief minister said after inaugurating the plant from Purulia.

Dhunseri Poly Films was incorporated in November 2020 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dhunseri Ventures to carry on the new business of manufacturing polyester film.

The company subsequently planned a manufacturing unit spread over 38 acres at Panagarh Industrial Park of the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation.

The foundation stone for the plant, which has eastern India’s first 52000 TPA BOPET line, was laid in 2021, and the first phase was completed in two years in 2023. The company had signed a contract with German supplier Bruckner Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG for the project.

The Dhunseri group operates PET plants in Haldia, Panipat and Egypt in collaboration with joint-venture partner Indorama Ventures.

Chandra Kumar Dhanuka, executive chairman and managing director of Dhunseri Ventures, said, “As a newcomer in the plastics film industry we were looking for an experienced partner and the best technology. Both we found with Brückner.”

“This plant will lead to a direct and indirect employment generation of over 300 people,” he added.

Based in Calcutta, Dhunseri Ventures has business interests in BOPET films, bottle-grade PET Resin and Tea.

The chief minister also virtually inaugurated Shyam Steel’s Rs 1,500 crore integrated plant in Purulia. In the first phase, the plant will produce 1.19 million tonnes of steel.