The ABG investment in paints is likely to be done through Grasim, whose board of directors earlier this year had approved a foray into the sector at a capital expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore over the next three years.
Kolkata: In good news for Bengal, the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) will invest Rs 1,000 crore in the state to set up a paint hub with the potential to generate over 600 direct and 1,500 indirect jobs.
The Kumar Mangalam Birla-led group, which recently entered the paint sector, had earlier written to CM Mamata Banerjee expressing interest in setting up a paint manufacturing unit in the state. Senior company officials — group executive president Sunil Bajaj and chief operating officer (new projects) Ajith Kumar K met — met chief secretary H K Dwivedi on Thursday.
The government in a statement said that the group had requested for land to set up its facility. “This would be a decorative paint unit with backward integration on 80 acres of land in Vidyasagar Industrial Park in Kharagpur. They would also set up ancillary units there. The project involves an investment of Rs 1,000 crore from ABG. The paint unit would provide jobs to 600 people and indirect employment for over 1,500 people. The plant would be commissioned in 18-24 months,” the statement stated. Incidentally, Kolkata was once called the paints capital of India with most major companies, including Berger Paints, ICI, Jenson & Nicholson and Shalimar Paints, having their headquarters in the city.
The ABG investment in paints is likely to be done through Grasim, whose board of directors earlier this year had approved a foray into the sector at a capital expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore over the next three years.
ABG chairman K M Birla had earlier said that foray into paints was a strategic portfolio choice for Grasim as it looks to identify new growth engines. Grasim’s strong balance sheet will facilitate this entry, which will add size, scale and diversity to its existing portfolio.
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