Kolkata, Oct 12 (IANS): The West Bengal government on Wednesday handed over the letter of intent (LoI) to Adani Port & SEZ Ltd for setting up and developing a deep-sea port at Tajpur in East Midnapore district.

The LOI was handed over to Karan Adani, the CEO of Adani Port & SEZ Ltd and son of Adani Group's founder-Chairman, Gautam Adani by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, during a Vijaya Sanmilani gathering at New Town, a state government statement said.

According to the press statement, the total investment behind the project will be Rs 25,000 crore, out of which Rs 15,000 crore will be for the main port and the remaining Rs 10,000 crore would be for related development.

On September 20, the West Bengal cabinet approved the proposal for issuing the LoI to Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone for development of the greenfield deep sea port. The project will entail a direct employment potential for 25,000 individuals, the state government has claimed.

Tajpur port development was under discussion since the time of Bengal Global Business Summit-2022, the annual event of the state government to showcase the state as an ideal business destination, which was conducted early this year.

The major contender in the bidding for the project was Adani Port & SEZ Ltd and JSW Infrastructure. After the bid was opened on March 23 this year, Adani Port emerged as the highest bidder. The land for the project is being provided by the state government.