Bengal industry minister Nirupam Sen (centre) with industry secretary Sabyasachi Sen (second from left), Bharat Forge executive director Amit Kalyani (right), and WBIDC managing director M.V. Rao in Calcutta on Thursday. (PTI)

Calcutta, Feb. 21: After shunning Bengal a year ago following the trouble over land acquisition, the Bharat Forge group is back in the state with a bundle of projects.

Group company Kalyani Steels Ltd proposes to set up a one-million-tonne speciality steel plant and a 500-megawatt captive power unit at an investment of Rs 6,500 crore.

It has also initiated a dialogue with the Bengal government to set up a high-end component manufacturing park.

Today, Kalyani Steel inked a deal with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) for the steel and power plants, while promising to look at the component park. It also sought land from the state government to build the eastern headquarters of the group.

“We have seen the commitment of the Bengal government in the last one-and-a-half years. We believe it can deliver,” Amit Kalyani, executive director of Kalyani Steels Ltd and son of founder Baba Kalyani, said.

He particularly lauded the effort of M.V. Rao, managing director of the WBIDC, in convincing the company to come here and invest.

State industry minister Nirupam Sen expressed happiness over Bharat Forge’s decision. “We have been in dialogue with them for the last one-and-a-half years,” he said.

The company believes its products will have a good market here.

While the location has not been frozen, a plot closer to Jindal’s Salboni plant is a possibility.

The group’s operational model is of Kalyani Steels making speciality steel that Bharat Forge uses to make component for a wide variety of companies.

“Apart from auto, we are focusing on rail, marine, power, capital goods and aerospace sectors for supplying components,” Kalyani said.