BJP's rise to power in West Bengal revives hopes for Rs 25,000-crore Tajpur port project

Kolkata: The BJP’s ascent to power in West Bengal has revived industry expectations around the long-delayed Rs 25,000 crore Tajpur deep sea port project, with stakeholders hopeful that improved coordination between the state and the Centre will accelerate progress on the proposed infrastructure venture.

The optimism comes even as the latest global tender floated in December 2025 by the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) now stands cancelled, after failing to attract adequate participation.

"With the Centre-state alignment in Bengal, the project is well positioned to gain momentum. However, its full potential will hinge on robust last-mile connectivity and seamless multimodal integration," Adhip Nath Pal Chaudhuri, Chairman, National Shipping and Logistics Committee, BCC&I, told PTI.

The Tajpur port has the potential to be a transformative catalyst for eastern India’s trade by enabling direct berthing of large vessels, reducing reliance on transshipment hubs, and lowering logistics costs, while also decongesting Kolkata and Haldia ports to improve turnaround time and reliability, said Chaudhuri, who is also the CMD of Balmer Lawrie & Co Ltd.

“The tender for the design, build, finance, operate and transfer of the greenfield port at Tajpur was cancelled just about a fortnight ago because minimum bids were not received,” a Maritime Board official told PTI.

The BJP, in its 2026 West Bengal assembly election manifesto, had promised development of both the Tajpur deep sea port and the proposed Kulpi port, pitching the projects as key to boosting industrialisation, logistics and employment in the state.

The Tajpur port project in East Midnapore district was first conceived over a decade ago to reduce pressure on the riverine Kolkata dock system, and improve maritime infrastructure in eastern India.

Initially, the project was explored in partnership with the Kolkata Port Trust, now the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata. Later, the state government decided to develop the port through the public-private partnership (PPP) route.

In 2021, the West Bengal government invited bids for the greenfield port project on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) emerged as the top bidder, defeating the Sajjan Jindal-owned JSW Group company, JSW Infrastructure, in the tender.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had even handed over the Letter of Intent (LoI) to APSEZ in October 2022, when the project was touted to attract investments worth around Rs 25,000 crore.

However, in November 2023, the state government announced that a fresh tender process will be initiated without citing any clear reason.

In June 2025, the Bengal cabinet formally decided to terminate the earlier arrangement with the Adani Group and approved a fresh tender process, ending nearly four years of engagement with APSEZ over the project.

Subsequently, a fresh global tender was floated in December 2025, offering a 99-year concession period and around 1,000 acres of land for port-linked industrial development. However, it was cancelled by the WBIDC, the nodal investment vehicle of the state government.

The future course of the project is now likely to depend heavily on the policy direction of the new BJP government in the state and its ability to attract strategic investors for the long-pending maritime venture.