Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio is soon going to set up a cable landing station at Digha, West Bengal. Jio has been making steady moves and has already become the most valuable telco in the country in a short span of 4 years. A few months back, it got a ton of investments from various companies all around the world including the likes of Facebook and Google. Reliance Jio was looking to set up a cable landing station in Digha, West Bengal which would involve a cost of Rs 1,000 crore to the company. Now the project has been approved by the cabinet of Bengal.
Jio’s Cable Landing Station Plan for Digha Approved, Set Back for BSNL
Mamata Bannerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal said, “Reliance Jio had sent a proposal for a cable landing station in Digha and the cabinet cleared it today. It would invest a sum of Rs 1,000 crore. The infrastructure would generate employment opportunities in the state.”
This news is a set back for BSNL though. Back in 2011, BSNL had proposed a plan for setting up a cable landing station at Digha. But the cabinet hadn’t cleared that. Looking at the current circumstances of both Jio and BSNL, it only makes sense to give permission to Jio ahead of BSNL since BSNL doesn’t have a very strong financial position at the moment.
According to a source, Jio is going to purchase a 1.5-acre plot from the government at the market rate for building the station at Digha. This cable landing station is going to be the first in eastern India. It will boost the IT sector of the state. Not only that, but this project would also raise employment opportunities for the people of the state. Tech companies would be attracted to West Bengal for setting up data centres and making investments which will improve the economy of the country and also boost the telecom infrastructure.
An official said, “The chief minister is laying stress on these projects as these are capable of generating employment opportunities. This is what the ruling party is focusing ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls.”
