U.K. to invest ₹205 crore to help fight plastic pollution in West Bengal
The Hindu
British International Investment commits ₹205 crore to fight plastic pollution in West Bengal, creating jobs and reducing carbon emissions.
KOLKATA
British International Investment (BII), the United Kingdom Government’s developmental finance institution, has committed an investment of ₹205 crore to help fight plastic pollution in West Bengal.
On Wednesday, BII signed a memorandum of understanding with Magpet Polymers in Kolkata confirming a ₹205 crore ($24 million) debt investment in the form of a long-term loan towards the expansion of Magpet’s PET-bottle recycling facility in Kharagpur, West Bengal.
This investment will enable the expansion and development of an integrated single-line bottle-to-bottle food-grade recycling plant by Magpet at Vidyasagar Industrial Park, Kharagpur, West Bengal.
“It will create over 300 direct job opportunities in the State, and will enable the social inclusion of over 10,000 waste-pickers in the region in the waste aggregation process,” said Indranil Goho, President and CEO of Magpet. This plant will become the first of its kind in India.
The facility will use European technology from Herbold, Coperion, and Polymetrix to recycle 45,000 tonnes of PET bottles annually, transforming used plastic into food-grade products.
“This is a significant milestone in India’s sustainability journey and addresses one of the most pressing issues of today, plastic pollution,” British Deputy High Commissioner to the East and Northeast India, Dr Andrew Fleming, said at the MoU signing in Kolkata on Wednesday. “Between 2022 and 2026, BII is committed to directing at least 30% of its investments towards climate finance.”
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