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The Prospects Of US Companies Partnering In The 2008-10 Modernisation Plans For Dum Dum Airport

By siddharth, Section Development
Posted on Thu Sep 27, 2007 at 02:36:55 AM EST

The latest in the list of people to be enthralled with "Brand Buddha" is the three member US delegation from Los Angeles County which has been in the city since Monday. They have met government officials and industrialists to assess the investment potential in the state.

In an exclusive chat with The Indian Express, the members said their meeting with Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had left them very impressed.

"Very engaging," was the response from the councilperson of Long Beach city, Suja Lowenthal.

"We were very impressed with the clarity of vision that the CM displayed with respect to the needs and opportunities for the state," said Vance Baugham, president of the World Trade Centre Association of Los Angeles-Long Beach.

According to Bill Allen, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp, the Bengal CM talked of US collaboration for the proposed deep-sea port in the state and the expansion and modernisation of Kolkata airport.

"After the current expansion project for the airport (2008 to 2010), there may be a need to invest further around 2015, keeping in mind the significant growth in national and international passenger traffic likely to be witnessed by the state," observed Allen.

He said a lot of companies in LA had expertise in airport infrastructure creation and management and they were likely to be a part of the larger trade mission slated to visit the state in January 2008.

"Even though the contract for modernisation has already been awarded, there is scope for our companies to partner in areas such as ground management, navigation and logistic support," said Baugham, talking about the prospects of US companies partnering in the 2008-10 modernisation plans for Dum Dum airport.

Apart from the agenda that the US delegation brought to the table, other areas for collaboration earmarked in the meeting were food processing, electronic hardware manufacturing, heritage tourism, and education.

"The toughest part has been achieved, now we need to formulate an approach, and get the companies here," Lowenthal noted optimistically.

The members feel there is a healthy and strong relationship between public and private sector in the state.

"There might have been a struggle in the past between the two sectors, but we found that both are willing to work together to improve the quality of life in West Bengal and the level of investment," said Lowenthal.

Public private participation here was much like in their part of the globe, they felt, and can spur investment from LA based companies.

Speaking on behalf of companies from their part of the US, the delegation unanimously stated that dealing economically with a Marxist government with a different political ideology was not an inhibiting factor for business.

"The LA County customs jurisdiction has the largest trade with China and now we are also looking at Vietnam," said Allen, so there was no reason for not engaging in trade with West Bengal.

"The message we are going to carry back is that West Bengal is very attractive investment destination. In our research, we found that this state has a pattern of very high growth. The potential is immense as the infrastructure is just starting to develop," said Baugham.

Source:The Indian Express,27-09-07

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