JSW Infra to re-evaluate strategy for Tajpur project

Kolkata: Indicating that the company is still interested in the mega Tajpur deep sea port in West Bengal, JSW Infrastructure Ltd said that it remains open to re-evaluate its strategy for the project “if the project comes for re-bidding”, a senior official said.

JSW Group had failed to emerge as the winning bidder in the last tendering round, where Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) had emerged as the L1 bidder in October 2022, and a Letter of Intent to Award (LOIA) was handed over to the company. However, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s announcement at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS) in November 2023 that a tender would soon be launched for the development of the port. This has led to a cloud of uncertainty around the mega deep-sea port project. Banerjee had announced that the proposed deep-sea port at Tajpur is ready for tender, which would attract an investment of USD 3 billion or Rs 25,000 crore.

JSW Infrastructure Joint Managing Director and CEO Arun Maheswari told PTI: “We will re-evaluate our strategies. Previously, when we bid, it was 2-3 years back.” He was in Kolkata to attend a CII Young Indians event. Since the chief minister’s announcement, there has been no official word on the next steps, though Adani officials said they were in touch with the state administration. “There has been no official clarification since the CM’s announcement. However, we remain committed to the project and are still waiting for an award,” Adani group sources said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.