Calcutta, July 27: Prasoon Mukherjee — the non-resident Indian businessman who has acted as the pointman for the Indonesia-based Salim Group’s proposed investments in Bengal – has drawn up a $50-billion investment blueprint of his own.

More than a third of that vast cash mountain will be shovelled into Bengal.

Mukherjee plans to route his investments through his company Universal Success Enterprises Ltd (USEL) over the next 10 years. He plans to build deep-sea ports, large power plants and special economic zones (SEZ) in Bengal, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The projects, which do not include the upcoming chemical hub at Nayachar in Bengal, will comprise three power plants with a combined generation capacity of 20,000 megawatts, three captive ports and two multi-purpose SEZs.

When completed, these projects will create one-lakh jobs to build the power plants, ports and SEZs and then run them.

Mukherjee plans to leverage the world-class coal assets he owns in Indonesia and Mongolia. Accumulated over the past decade in partnership with Salim Group, these coal mines will help create a stack of companies that will connect the pit heads to wall sockets in homes across the country.

The Indonesian mines will fire a 10,000MW power plant in Bengal and two 5.000MW plants in Gujarat and power-starved Maharashtra each over the next 30 years without even scratching the Mongolian reserves.

Under Mukherjee’s blueprint, the coal will be imported from the Indonesian mines by ship and will be used to generate power that will then be sold to units that operate in the SEZs.

Mukherjee said he planned to either create a fleet of dedicated ships or pick up a stake in shipping lines to have control over the logistics.

In short, he plans to control the entire value chain — from mines to power plants and then on to the SEZs.

“All this is possible because I have the coal. I can create much greater value by creating this value chain than just mining the coal and trading in it,” Mukherjee told The Telegraph.

His Indonesian partner — Salim Group — is a co-owner of the Indonesian mines. However, it does not intend to enter the power business.

A number of Indian companies, such as Tata Power, have acquired steam coal mines in Indonesia to run their domestic power plants. With global prices of commodities such as crude oil, iron ore and coal at record highs, anyone owning these raw materials, naturally. assumes a position of dominance.

Mukherjee plans to dilute a part of the coal assets by either taking the company public or engaging financial investors to bankroll his ambitious plans.

The power plants will cost about $25 billion and will have a debt-equity ratio of 2:1. Three ports and the two SEZs would cost another $25 billion.

“I do not need a financial partner. These projects will be developed over 10 years. I can capitalise the coal. The Mongolian mine can produce 300 million tonnes a year,” he said.

When the landlocked mines in Mongolia begin production, evacuation will pose challenges. A dedicated rail corridor is expected to be built to bring the coal to a nearby port.

USEL has submitted concrete proposals to the Maharashtra and Gujarat governments for the establishment of ports, power plants and SEZs. The SEZ units will also be allowed to ship their products through this port.

A 5,000 MW power plant would typically require 2,500 acres. The SEZs will need to be housed in plots of a similar size. Under the existing regulations, the minimum size of a multi-product SEZ is 1,000 hectares (or 2,470 acres).

In Bengal, USEL will build its own deep-sea port to import coal. This will be in addition to the deep-sea port that the state government is contemplating.

Electricity generated from the power plants will be sold to the state grid here and the units in the proposed chemical hub.

However, there is one missing link in this seamless business plan and Mukherjee is working on ways to plug it.

The break-bulk carriers that bring coal to the country cannot go back empty. “The power plants will produce slag which can be used to make cement or bricks. But I am looking at other options as well,” he said.