Around Rs 10,000 crore would be invested in north Bengal during the next couple of years, the representatives of a prominent trade organisation claimed here on Tuesday.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which held a seminar to discuss “success stories of north Bengal” with regard to investments and an interactive session among entrepreneurs and Rajiva Sinha, the chairman of West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), said more funds would be infused by private companies in the region in the coming years.

“Industrialists have invested here in sectors like tourism, health and manufacturing. Today (Tuesday), they came here to share their experiences and encourage others to make investments here,” said Nishant Mittal, chairman of the north Bengal chapter of the ICC.

Sources in the ICC said that since last year, a number of projects have started and around Rs 10,000 crore would be invested by next two years.

“Among these include investments to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore in real estate, Rs 1,500 crore in logistics, Rs 500 crore in healthcare, Rs 1,000 crore in tourism, Rs 700 crore in manufacturing and around Rs 350 crore in the education sector. Let us be clear that these are not proposals but work of most of these projects has started, along with a steady infusion of funds,” said a source in the trade body.

At the seminar, Sinha, the chairman of the WBIDC and also that of the WBIIDC, asked industrialists to set up units compatible with the region.

“We have been focusing on north Bengal and providing all possible assistance. However, we want the prospective investors to come up with projects which are viable and suit the ecosystem of this region,” said Sinha.

In north Bengal, representatives of the business fraternity have in recent times pointed out that job opportunities are depleting in the tea industry, the traditional sector that employs around 5 lakh people, and newer avenues to drive the economy need to develop.

“Huge patches of land are available in the region. Also, there has been consistent improvement in connectivity and considering the geographical location of north Bengal, there is no reason why fresh investments can’t come up here,” said Soumen Nag, a social researcher.