The CM and his colleagues are all set to showcase Siliguri-Jalpaiguri region as one of the most favoured investment destinations in the east - its strategic location being the advantage. They are likely to convince investors that the state government would favour direct purchase of agricultural land for industry in north Bengal districts.

While brand Buddah's Bengal is on a trajectory of industrial growth, Siliguri and Jalpaiguri constitute the core areas of this steady economic growth process. The government expects that within a couple of years, investments in Siliguri would touch the magic figure of Rs 10,000 crore in sectors like IT, housing and real estate, hospitality management, education, food processing, food parks and manufacturing.

In a bid to rope in investors and also to showcase Siliguri-Jalpaiguri region, the CM has encouraged urban development minister Ashok Bhattacharjee to organise a CII meet there in mid-July. The CM would inaugurate this meet and exchange views with the important business conglomerates of
the country.

Consumer electronics major Videocon Industries Ltd has already stepped into Siliguri with a major plan of setting up an electronics good unit in the city manufacturing television sets, computers, microwaves and other gadgets. Videocon group chairman V N Dhoot had triggered chief minister's aspirations of turning this state into a major industry centre of the nation.

According to Bhattacharjee, Videocon plans to start with a production capacity of about one lakh units at the new factory. Additionally Videocon, which had bought the Philips India factory at Salt Lake in Kolkata for Rs 9 crore in 1999, had last year announced setting up of a Rs 200-crore IT park project on the excess land there.