AP Govt Greenlights ArcelorMittal’s Rs 1.4L-Cr Steel Plant In Anakapalle

Visakhapatnam: After giving its stamp of approval for establishment of a greenfield steel plant by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steels India (AM/NS India) with an initial investment of Rs 61,780 crore in the first phase at Nakkapalli in Anakapalle district near here, Andhra Pradesh government has decided to explore land required under Land Pooling Scheme (LPS).

With the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB), which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at Amaravati on Tuesday, giving its approval to the project, the proposal for the steel plant at Bagaraiahpeta near Nakkapalli is all set to be tabled in the next meeting of the State Cabinet for giving its stamp of approval.

Naidu at the meeting advised the officials to follow transparency in acquiring lands under land pooling as done for Amaravati capital city during his earlier stint in 2015. Over 30,000 acres of agriculture land was acquired under LPS with a promise to provide 1,000 square yards of developed plot of their choice per one acre given for development of the capital city.

Teh SIPB meeting, which gave its approval to investment proposals worth Rs 85,000 crore, also gave in-principle approval to the request for a captive jetty by the project proponent of the steel plant. The mega steel plant is proposed in the close vicinity of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL)'s Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, which is facing an uncertain time following privatisation decision by the Union government and deteriorating financial situation. "Though we welcome more industries for creating employment opportunities to the locals, our first and foremost demand is to address the problems of RINL, on whom nearly one lakh people are directly or indirectly dependent for the livelihood by announcing its retention in the public sector with a time-bound revival package," AITUC national vice-president D Adinarayana told Bizz Buzz on Wednesday.

Earlier, AM/NS India had proposed to establish an integrated steel plant in two phases with a total investment of Rs 1.40 lakh crore with a job potential of 21,000. It is hoped to be larger than the Hazira plant in Gujarat.

IT and Electronic Minister Nara Lokesh in a post on X stated that the project was finalised during a Zoom call with ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal. Lokesh said the clinching of the project is a remarkable leap forward for the State's industrial landscape.

Naidu told at the SIPB 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 SIPB meeting mainly focussed on the proposed investments in the past five months, the MoUs entered into and the progress on these issues. The SIPB cleared investments worth Rs 85,083 crore, which will create 33,966 jobs. The meeting cleared the proposals for launching of 10 heavy industries which include few other projects.

LG Electronics India Pvt Limited will invest Rs 5,001 crore providing 1495 jobs. Kalyani Strategies System Limited is setting up its plant with Rs 1,430 crore providing 565 jobs.