Vijayawada: The State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB), headed by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, approved investment proposals from 10 companies worth Rs 85,083 crore. As many as 33,966 job opportunities will be created if the investment proposals are fully realised.
The SIPB, chaired by Naidu, met for the first time on Tuesday. Naidu said that there is intense competition among states for investments in the country, and officials should work to attract investments to the state despite this competition. He mentioned that due to the policies of the previous govt, there were no investments for five years, and even those who made agreements withdrew due to the previous govt’s approach, which he termed as govt terrorism.
Naidu suggested that officials track every inquiry they receive from a potential investor or company to ensure that the proposal is realised into the grounding of companies. The SIPB reviewed the proposals, agreements, and their progress over the past five months in the state.
The proposed ArcelorMittal & Nippon Steel JV is the biggest investment plan cleared by the SIPB. The JV plans to invest Rs 61,780 crore in the first phase of an integrated steel plant (including a captive port) near Bangarayyapeta, Nakkapalli, which will create more than 21,000 jobs.
Naidu asked the officials to go for the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) in the case of big industries like the ArcelorMittal steel plant. He mentioned that the land pooling method adopted in the capital, Amaravati, should be presented to the people. As a second option, he suggested providing necessary skill development and employment opportunities to those giving land for any project and asked the officials to undertake land acquisition only if the first two options failed.
Seconding the opinion of deputy chief minister K Pawan Kalyan that while investments are important, the future of the people losing land is equally important, Naidu suggested working with companies to provide all facilities for social life near large projects. He advised ministers in the SIPB to ensure that this project is implemented within four years.
Naidu opined that if Mulapeta port and the steel plant are completed, a new city will be formed, changing the entire landscape of that area.
The meeting was attended by chief secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad, deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, 20 Lakh Jobs Creation Subcommittee chairman Nara Lokesh, ministers Achchennaidu, TG Bharat, Kandula Durgesh, Vasamsetti Subhash, Gottipati Ravi, Anagani Satyaprasad, Payyavula Keshav, BC Janardhan Reddy, P Narayana, and other officials.
