New Kolkata International Development (NKID), the Indonesian Salim Group and NRI Prasoon Mukherjee-promoted joint venture, is not clear what it will do with the 13,000 acres in Nayachar, earmarked as a site for West Bengal?s government?s ambitious Petroleum, Chemical & Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR).

Prasoon Mukherjee, a director in NKID and also chairman of Universal Success Enterprises Ltd, said he was not yet sure as to what plan NKID could draw up to implement projects. Addressing the CII eastern region organised Infra East, in which Union minister of state for Urban Development, Saugata Roy, was present, Mukherjee said the entire 13,000 acres of Nayachar, the small island off the coast of Haldia, would be used for developing eco-tourism. Later, on the sidelines of the conference, he said that NKID was still undecided about the projects that would come up at Nayachar.

?Please give me another 2-3 months time for me to understand what I can make out of Nayachar. I will shortly appoint a consultant for an all field study, CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) and non-CRZ area, to finally find what can be done on that land,? Mukherjee said. ?But my emphasis?, he added, ? will be on marine life preservation.?

NKID and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) have already formed a 51: 49 partnership for implementing PCPIR in Nayachar. The 13,000 acres in Nayachar is part of the 250 sq kms or 2500 hectares, required to form a PCPIR. While both the Centre and the state said that Nayachar would be a part of the Haldia PCPIR and the land would be joined with the Haldia industrial region with a bridge to form a contagious stretch, Mamata Banerjee lead Trinamool Congress is all opposed to any chemical industry at Nayachar.

In fact, Nayachar comes under three grades of CRZ and all the grades of CRZ together occupy around 6,000 acres. For each grade of CRZ there are specifications of the types of industry that can be set up and studies are under way.

Mukherjee said ? the four season or environ-tech study is half the way with two seasons already covered?. In another 2-3 months it would be clear what type of ventures could NKID move ahead in the region. ?Developing Nayachar as an eco-tourism centre is also on our cards but nothing is final as yet,? Mukherjee said.

Earlier, he said that with the available 4 meters draught at Nayachar, the area was not commercially viable to be a part of PCPIR.

NKID has also evinced interest to develop a deep-sea port off the coast of Bengal. Mukherjee said the ideal location for a port would be 45 kms inside the sea entailing an investment of Rs 13,000 crore but nothing on it has been decided as yet. He didn?t clarify whether the proposed deep draught port would be a part of PCPIR.

The West Bengal government has already signed a memorandum of understanding on October 29, 2009 for implementing PCPIR across Nayachar and Haldia and the Centre would invest Rs 2,508 crore for developing infrastructure in the PCPIR.

However, Subhendu Adhikary, the MP from Tamluk, under whose jurisdiction comes Nayachar and Haldia, said his party, Trinamool Congress, was absolutely against the proposal of a PCPIR because it would create environmental hazards. ? We are instead in favour of having agro-based industries in the region because it would create jobs and protect the environment as well,? Adhikary said.

Asked whether political tussles were holding back NKID to arrive at a concrete decision on projects, Mukherjee said: ? Both the ruling and the Opposition parties have their respective genuine concerns. We respect concerns of both.?