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After Nano, is one of the biggest Muslim-owned groups heading for Gujarat? Singapore-based infrastructure and hospitality firm Universal Success Enterprises Ltd (USEL), promoted by NRI businessman Prasoon Mukherjee, is seeking to ink a deal with the Gujarat government to pump in Rs 1 lakh crore in a slew of projects ranging from power plants to SEZs and port development, in the presence of Modi. Indonesia-based Salim group too would have limited equity exposure in these ventures.
The group, that exited Nandigram after West Bengal government decided not to go ahead with the petrochemicals SEZ planned there following violent protests by the Trinamool Congress and Naxalites, is said to be largely interested in the Gulf of Cambay and the Ahmedabad-Dholera SIR.

Those in the know are now asking, what Singur is to Sanand, will Nandigram be to Dholera? However, Mukherjee was there at the Vibrant Gujarat 2007 summit, where he promised a lot of investment in Gujarat but not much has come out of it till now.

Last month, Mukherjee had assured a Nanodevastated Bhattacharjee administration that the USEL-Salim combine would invest Rs 5 lakh crore in SEZs, housing, road, townships and power plants in Bengal. But since land acquisition is yet to start for many of these projects, the prospects of investments touching this magic figure appear very optimistic, to say the least.
However, no such doubts exist for the investments planned in Gujarat since the Modi government is said to have assured USEL of arranging the required land by January 2009. USEL proposes to set up a 12,000 MW power plant involving an outlay of Rs 65,000 crore at a coastal location in Gujarat. Besides, it intends to pump in Rs 10,000 crore on a port venture and the balance Rs 25,000 crore on a multi-product SEZ in Modi-land.
Out of 12,000 MW generated, 10,000 MW would be merchant power which would be sold to other companies and the balance 2,000 MW would be for captive use within the SEZ. USEL Energy would implement the power project. It is in the process of acquiring four coal blocks in Indonesia, Mongolia and China for the power ventures in India.