Gautam Adani, representing the Adani Group, engaged in an hour-long discussion with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday. The meeting encompassed various projects, with a particular focus on the Tajpur port. The Bengal government recently decided to issue a new tender for the port, leading to speculation regarding the meeting’s focus.
Significant attention has been given to the Tajpur port, a project valued at Rs 25,000 crore. The West Bengal government recently terminated its four-year partnership with the Adani Group for this project, which triggered the decision to issue a new tender.
The Tajpur port is considered a strategically vital infrastructure project for eastern India, thus drawing the attention of the Bengal government and the Adani Group. However, neither party has offered any specifics on what was discussed during the meeting.
During the meeting, which lasted for approximately an hour, the Bengal government did not clarify the Tajpur port’s status. The state government also has not yet confirmed whether the tender given to the Adani Group was cancelled. This ambiguity has led to different interpretations of the meeting. CM Mamata and Gautam Adani’s conversation spanned about an hour.
The meeting between Gautam Adani and CM Mamata Banerjee was not their first. They previously met in 2021, followed by Adani’s participation in the ‘Bengal Global Business Summit’ in 2022.