Mamata Banerjee on Thursday met senior officials of Tempe Grupo Inditex in Spain’s capital Madrid and said its textile manufacturing would be shifted to Bengal.

The Bengal chief minister released a statement on X at 10.13pm after the meeting with the delegation.

“Tempe Grupo Inditex (Zara), a major player in the textile industry, is expanding its operations. They are partnering with private entities to shift manufacturing to West Bengal, with production set to begin before Christmas 2023,” she posted.

“During the Bengal Global Business Summit in 2019, a segment titled ‘Downstream Polymer and Plastic Industry,’ was conceived aligning with our collective vision,” she added.

Clothing giant Inditex — which retails under Zara and Massimo Dutti — has a strong presence here. The biggest fast fashion group in the world, Inditex, operates in India in a joint venture with Tata Group’s retail arm Trent Ltd.

“To facilitate the mega project, we are in talks to grant Tempe and its partners approximately 100 acres of concessional land in a suitable location with all support from the government for a PU factory,” posted Mamata.

During the meeting, in a video she released on social media, she could be heard asking the delegation to set up manufacturing units and a mall in Bengal.

“I am speaking… that you must set up some manufacturing units there and (a) mall also, because Zara is a very popular brand, and everybody want(s) to purchase everything from Zara,” Mamata was heard saying.

“In my state, I can tell you, it is very popular among the young generation, even the women. So if you can set up one manufacturing…,” she added.

Sources in the Bengal government said if actualised, it could be one of the biggest achievements — by way of attracting investment — of the Mamata Banerjee government, in power in Bengal since 2011.