Andhra Pradesh clears Rs 85,000 crore investment proposals 

Amaravati, Nov 19 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) on Tuesday cleared an investment of Rs. 85,000 crore.

This investment is expected to create 33,966 jobs in the State.

The investment proposals were cleared at the maidan meeting of SIPB chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

The SIPB meeting mainly focussed on the proposed investments in the past five months, the MoUs entered into and the progress on these issues.

The meeting cleared the proposals for launching 10 heavy industries including ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steels, which will establish an integrated steel plant (including capital port) at Bagaraiahpeta near JV Nakkapalli. This company initially will invest Rs 61,780 crore to provide employment to 21,000 people.

The LG Electronics India Pvt Limited will invest Rs 5,001 crore providing 1495 jobs, the Kalyani Strategies System Limited is setting up its plant with Rs 1,430 crore providing 565 jobs, Phillips Carbon Black Limited to provide 200 jobs with an investment of Rs 3,798 crore and Azad India Mobility Limited with an investment of Rs 1046 crore to give employment to 2,381 persons and investments by several other companies too are cleared by the meeting.

He told the officials to work hard to attract investments to the state by resisting the stiff competition from all other states.

Stating that due to the adverse policies adopted by the previous government, there were absolutely no investments in the State, the Chief Minister said that even those who have entered into Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the State have left Andhra Pradesh in the past five years.

The Chief Minister said that the policies adopted by the ruling dispensations have a high influence on society and thus the ruling parties form their policies after deep study of the industrial sections and the companies.

Chandrababu told the meeting that all those who come forward to invest in the State should be accorded high respect and the official circles should extend all kinds of cooperation to them. Only then the youth will get employment opportunities, he said and added that if a discussion begins on one particular investment it should be tracked continuously till it materialises.

The officials informed the Chief Minister that the previous government paid only Rs 1961 crore as the incentives due to the companies while the earlier TDP regime had paid Rs 3883 cr to companies as subsidies. The Chief Minister felt that besides meeting the needs of the companies the officials also should take care of the welfare of those who donate lands for the setting up of industries.

The Chief Minister advised the officials to adopt the land pooling system while acquiring land for ArcelorMittal steel plant and also adopt three varieties of land acquisition systems while allotting lands to the companies. The officials should be very transparent in land pooling like in Amaravati.

Also, as a second option those who are coming forward voluntarily to give their lands should be given proper training through skill development and provide necessary employment to them, the Chief Minister said, adding that otherwise land should be acquired by paying the best available package to the land owners.

The Chief Minister fully supported the opinion of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan that investments are important but at the same time, the future of those who are coming forward to donate their lands is equally important.

The Deputy Chief Minister, Pawan Kalyan, the chairman of the sub-committee of providing 20 lakh employment and Minister for IT, Nara Lokesh, the Ministers, Atchen Naidu, TG Bharat, Kandula Durgesh, Vasamsetti Subash, Gottipati Ravi, Anagani Satya Prasad, Payyavula Kesav, BC Janardan Reddy and P Narayana along with the Chief Secretary, Neerab Kumar Prasad, and other senior officers were present.

--IANS

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