LA trade team keen on ports

Kolkata was the city in focus for the trade team from Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and World Trade Center Association LA-Long Beach that visited India.

The delegation said its members were keen to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) for technology transfer and modernisation project of the Kolkata Port.

The team met A K Chanda, chairman of KoPT, to discuss prospective areas of collaboration. It included building rail and highway connectivity with Kolkata Port together with working on safety, environment and logistics operations.

The trade team said it was upbeat about the proposed deep sea port project, though it did not mention specific modes of association. This apart, LAEDC and WTCA were looking forward to forge ties with companies and institutions in east India in for both public and private sector enterprises in healthcare, tourism, technology and transportation.

The delegation aimed to work with Airport Authority of India on modernisation project of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose airport. "We would like to leverage the experience that we have gathered in the port town of LA-Long Beach County and form association with infrastructure and logistics projects here", said Suja Lowenthal, council member of the city of Long Beach.

Los Angeles Port and Port of Long Beach together made up the largest port complex in the US. The LAEDC team was, however, more keen to share technology rather than directly investing in projects here.

The team met the West Bengal industries secretary Sabyasachi Sen and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation managing director M V Rao. The state officials made a presentation before the trade team.

No concrete business proposals were discussed, however, said Rao. The 25 member delegation led by Ray Holdswarth, chairman of LAEDC and WTCA, had representatives from Paramount Pictures, which was looking at potential partners to build a film city at the outskirts of Kolkata.

Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharjee said collaborating with the LA team in the primary health sector and in telemedicine projects for Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) health units was possible.