Company sources said all necessary clearances have been approved including that of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

``We have entered into an agreement with a foreign partner. The partner will hold an equity stake in the project. In future we can also set up a consortium with other companies for this project,'' a top level official said.

However, the company has not yet decided which arm will enter into the joint venture or the consortium.

``We have a lot of joint ventures with other parties. We also have a number of subsidiaries but we have not decided which of these will enter into the partnership with the foreign partner. It will be decided soon,'' the official said.

The liquid cargo handling facility will be created next to the Raichak fishing harbour on the banks of riverHooghly. It will be on the other side of the Haldia dock complex.

``According to our estimates cost of the project will be around Rs 100 crore. It will be spread over 80 acre. To start with, the facility will have a capacity to handle around 1.5 lakh tonnes per annum, both petroleum and non-petroleum products. Later, the capacity can be increased,'' sources said.

At present, land is being acquired for this project. Balmer Lawrie has approached the West Bengal Infrastructure Development Corp Ltd for acquiring the land and the subsequent development.

Company sources said this facility will cater to the medium sized liquid cargo vessels. ``On the other side of the river we have the Haldia dock complex but most of the consumers are on this side of the river. On this side, we have the Budge Budge complex but that too is overcrowded. So, we do not have any apprehension of creating an idle facility,'' sources said.

Moreover, rail link from this proposed port is only 4km away. If things pick up railconnections can be extended up to the port, the sources said.

Balmer Lawrie is also engaged in setting up two container freight stations, one in Mumbai and the other in Chennai.

``Both the freight stations will be commissioned by the end of this quarter. Work at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai is on for the last 18 months and the project cost is Rs 45 crore. The Chennai project, with a cost of Rs 20 crore, will be completed by this quarter and its project cost is Rs 20 crore,'' sources said.

The company is also setting up an LPG cylinder manufacturing plant in Myanmar in the next one and half years. The project was awarded to Balmer Lawrie after the Union government extended an $8 million line of credit to the government of Myanmar about eight months ago.

For the year ending March 31, 1998, Balmer Lawrie had a total income of Rs 668 crore. Profit before tax was Rs 19.21 crore and profit after tax was Rs 16.41 crore. The company paid a dividend of 32 per cent.