Andhra CM lays foundation stone for Rs 8,800 cr JSW steel plant

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for JSW Group’s proposed steel plant at Sunnapurallapalle village in YSR Kadapa district.

In the first phase, JSW steel will invest Rs 3,300 crore in the proposed plant and one million tonnes of steel per annum will be produced during the first year.

The facility will be upgraded to two million tonnes per year in the second phase and will eventually reach three million tonnes capacity per annum.

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The total investment for all the three phases would be Rs 8,800 crore, AP CM noted.

“Once the steel plant is set up, there will be an ecosystem developed with several ancillary units. Once the ecosystem is created, then the entire area would be transformed into a Steel City,” Jagan said after laying the foundation stone.

The CM said all necessary infrastructure such as road, power and water supply will be provided at an outlay of Rs 700 crore, to the plant.

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Jagan expressed hope that the steel plant would be commissioned in 24 to 30 months.

Sajjan Jindal, chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group, said the laying of the foundation is just the beginning and it will convert into a big steel plant in the years to come.

The steel plant which he set up in Bellary in 1995 with an initial production capacity of 1.20 million tonnes per annum has now reached 13 MTPA and is poised to become the world’s largest steel plant with 25 MTPA in the next few years.

“I can promise you that over the years this place will blossom. This will be known on the map as the steel district of India,” Jindal said.

He expressed his desire to create a model steel plant in Kadapa district, which will be the “greenest steel plant” in the country and the world, which will be operating on ‘green fuel’.

“We are looking to build a very futuristic and very modern steel plant,” he added.