Members of the US delegation on Friday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, March 7: A trade delegation from southern California is in Calcutta looking for business opportunities when the Left has turned the heat on Delhi to scuttle its proposed nuclear deal with America.

The team of 25, representing logistics (port and airport), real estate, healthcare, tourism and transportation industries, held a series of meetings and visited the Calcutta port and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport.

In the absence of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and industries minister Nirupam Sen, the delegation met industries secretary Sabyasachi Sen and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation managing director M.V. Rao.

State officials made a presentation on Bengal before the team led by Ray Holdsworth, the chairman of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp and the World Trade Center Association.

Bill Allen, the president and CEO of the corporation, Suja Lowenthal, a council member of the city of Long Beach, and Vance Baugham, the president of the World Trade Center Association, were part of the team.

Los Angeles county is home to the Long Beach port and Los Angeles port, which together make up the largest port complex in the US and the 5th largest in the world. The county is also the largest manufacturing hub in the US.

“There are many companies with expertise in ports and manufacturing. They will seek opportunities here,” Suja said at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The proposed deep-sea port in Bengal featured in the presentation made by state. Sources said the US companies are more keen to offer expertise than invest themselves.

After 30 minutes with Calcutta port officials, the US team met Airports Authority of India (AAI) representatives.

An AAI official said: “We briefed them in detail about the modernisation plan for airport terminals and other infrastructure.”