Viren Sinha in Calcutta on Wednesday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, May 29: Balmer Lawrie, the diversified public sector firm, is looking at reviving its multi-modal logistics park project in Bengal. The board of directors of the Calcutta-based firm today approved a proposal involving an investment of Rs 150 crore after its earlier project at Dankuni ran into a land hurdle.

“The board today approved the setting up of a logistics park off the National Highway 6 (close to Kharagpur). The investment in the project is about Rs 150 crore. We will require 55 acres of land and will approach the state government for 14Y clearances (under the land reforms act),” said Viren Sinha, chairman of Balmer Lawrie.

Balmer Lawrie sources told The Telegraph that the company had approached the Mamata Banerjee government for clearance of the earlier project at Dankuni. However, the project failed to obtain the approval to acquire land in excess of the ceiling holding. “We were disappointed when the Dankuni project did not go through,” Sinha today said.

Following the amendment to the West Bengal Land Reforms Act that allows warehousing units to hold land in excess of 24 acres, the public sector firm is once again looking to approach the government to get clearance for holding land in excess of the ceiling.

Sinha said the firm could spend about Rs 40 crore to obtain the land. “After obtaining clearance, it could take 6 months to acquire land and then another 18 months to commission the project,” he said.

A multi-modal logistics hub is an integrated unit offering warehousing and cold storage facilities along with rail and road connectivity. “The project would act as a one-stop shop for both inbound and outbound cargo,” Sinha said.

Net profit up

Balmer Lawrie’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013 rose to Rs 50.25 crore from Rs 35.65 crore a year ago. For the 2013 fiscal, net profit grew 18 per cent to Rs 163 crore from Rs 138 crore in the previous year. The firm is eyeing a 10-15 per cent growth over the Rs 2,762-crore topline in the current fiscal.