US firms showing interest in smart-themed cities in West Bengal

KOLKATA: Major US companies are showing interest in participation in the proposed six smart-themed cities in West Bengal, according to state Finance minister Amit Mitra.

The Bengal government had proposed six smart-themed cities in the state, he said, adding that the themes were sports, senior citizens, health and education, industry, analytics and art and culture.

"Twenty five per cent of such cities were to be kept for the themes while the rest is to be dedicated for other purposes", Mitra said at the AGM of Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry here.

He said that Hewlett-Packard showed interest in health care and telemedicine while Pratt and Whitney in providing elevator services.

US firm Cisco had also shown interest in e-learning and e-health solutions, he said.

Talking about the outcome of Bengal Business Summit held in January this year, Mitra said around Rs 91,000 crore of the total investment proposals of Rs 2.43 lakh crore was already in process.

Mitra said that in the recent roadshow held in Delhi, Hiranandani and the Piramals had shown interest in the state, besides Kajaria Ceramics.