ITC LTD'S expansion plans in West Bengal will be delayed as the company is still to get the land required for some of its projects, Chairman Y C Deveshwar said on Monday.
"The land issue is yet to be resolved," ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar told reporters on the sidelines of a CII meet here.
ITC plans to invest Rs 1,500 crore in the agricultural sector in the state, particularly to spearhead its e-choupal initiative, but has still not got the required land for the project.
Besides the agricultural sector, the company also planned to invest around Rs 300 crore for expansion of the Kidderpore cigarette factory, for which it had received the shipping ministry's approval for getting land on leasehold basis.
On the newly-created strategic business unit for strengthening the fast-moving consumer goods portfolio, Deveshwar said the purpose was to expand the business in this line of activity. Asked whether ITC was aiming to take on the multinationals in the sector, he said "not really so."
ITC has introduced shampoos under the Fiama di Wills brand and fragrances under the Essenza di Wills brand. The company has already decided to invest around Rs 15,000 crore in the country over the next seven years.
From: HT, Sep-18-2007
