Start production soon, AP tells Saint Gobain

SAINT Gobain, which is setting up a gypsum plaster board and float glass manufacturing unit in Visakhapatnam district has been given time till June, 2022 to complete its first phase project. On a request from the company, which is investing Rs 2,000 crore on its facility coming up at Atchutapuram, about 50 km from here, to extend the deadline due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Andhra Pradesh Government has extended the timeline to complete the first phase work. It also extended a special package of incentives to Saint Gobain India Pvt Ltd (SGIPL) for its facility with a potential to create direct employment to 450 and 850 persons indirectly in three phases.

Earlier, the company was allotted 180 acres at a cost of Rs.60 lakh per acre in Industrial Park, Atchutapuram. Saint-Gobain had informed the government that they have taken effective steps like land leveling, compound wall construction and incurred capital expenditure to the tune of around Rs.360 crore as part of project implementation and requested for transfer of the land allotment and other benefits from to a newly floated wholly owned subsidiary Saint Gobain Industries India Pvt. Ltd (SGIIPL) on the same terms and conditions as outlined in the GOs issued earlier.

Accordingly, the proposal was placed before the State Investment Promotion Board meeting held on 29.06.2021, with the recommendations of the State Investment Promotion Committee. After detailed discussions, the board considered the request of the company for extension of time for commencement of commercial production and change of name of the company.

The government after careful examination of the decisions of the board and taking into consideration delay in construction due to onset of Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, agreed to the change of the company to Saint Gobain Industries India Pvt. Ltd (SGIIPL) from Saint Gobain India Pvt. Ltd.,(SGIPL)), extension of time for commencement of commercial production for phase-I project up to June 2022 and extend all the benefits promised to it, according.to an order issued by Special Chief Secretary R Karikal Valaven.