AP CM lays stone for Rs. 8,800 cr steel plant

The plant, coming up on 3500-acre leased land, will provide direct and indirect employment to 25,000 persons. The first phase to be commissioned in 24 to 30 months, will see investment of Rs 3300 crore to produce one million tonnes

Kadapa: In what is considered an attempt to change the face of the backward Rayalaseema region, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for an integrated three million tonne steel plant at Sunnapurapalle in Jaggalamadugu mandal of his native YSR Kadapa district.

The project proponent, JSW Steel, a $22 billion company with investments in steel, energy, cement and paint sectors with a total steel production capacity of 27 million tonne and presence in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, will invest Rs 8,800 crore. In the first phase, it will invest Rs 3300 crore to produce one million tonnes. Subsequently, the capacity will be increased to three million tonnes. The water for the project will be sourced from Gandikota Reservoir.

Jagan Mohan Reddy, who thanked JSW Group Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal for his gesture to invest in Kadapa district, said the project will bring prosperity to the region. It will not only provide jobs to the locals but also promote ancillary industries, he said and hoped that the project proponent will invest in green hydrogen, wind and solar power pumped storage projects in future.

Though Kadapa Steel Plant (KSP) was a long awaited project and several attempts were made even during erstwhile TDP rule, there was no progress on establishing the steel plant due to various reasons.

The Kadapa Steel Plant is also said to be the first of its kind being set up with green technology. This is the second major steel plant in Andhra Pradesh after the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP). VSP owned by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited has a total production capacity of 7.3 million tonnes.

The Chief Minister said immediately after forming the government, the YSRCP had made required legislation to reserve 75 per cent of jobs in the industries to the locals. He said AP had been ranked numero uno in Ease of Doing Business for the third year in a row with the latest one wherein the ranks were made after taking into consideration the feedback from the investors. He told Sajjan Jindal that the State Government will stand behind him solidly to implement the project as per the timelines. “I will be just a call away for addressing any problem whatsoever. Even my entire government will be with you to expedite the project implementation,” he declared.

The JSW Steel’s investment proposal was cleared by the State Cabinet on December 13, 2022, a day after approval by the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB).

The government has allotted Rs 700 crore to provide infrastructure like roads, water and power supply to the steel plant and this will also result in the development of surrounding areas, he said.

The first phase of the KSP will be commissioned in 24 to 30 months and in the second phase, the production capacity of the plant will be enhanced by two million tonnes with an additional investment of Rs 5500 crore. The plant, coming up on 3500-acre leased land, will provide direct and indirect employment to 25,000 persons.