SIPB clears 6 investment proposals

Firms willing to invest in the State should provide large employment opportunities

The State Investment Promotion Board headed by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu met today at the Velagapudi Secretariat to clear 6 investments proposals worth Rs 3,808 crore which would generate 5,325 jobs.

The companies whose proposals were cleared include KCP Limited, Chettinad Cement Corporation Pvt Ltd, Rain Group, Mohan Spintex India Limited, Indo Count Industries Limited, and Vishwaa Apparels.  

KCP Limited has envisaged interest to set up a cement manufacturing unit in 100 acres of land at Muktyala Village, Jaggayapet Mandal, Krishna district  with an investment of Rs 531.61 crores and would generate direct employment to 100 youth and indirect employment to 1,900. This mega project will be completed in 1 Phase and the expected turnover is Rs 174.14 crores by year 1 and Rs 403. 01 crores by Year 5.

Cement grinding Unit in 75 acres and a Cement Manufacturing Plant in 1000 acres of land would be constructed by Chettinad Cement Corporation Private Limited at Tallapalem, Gytulapalem and Narasapuram Villag, Kasimkota Mandal, Visakahpatanam District and Pedagarlapadu Village, Dachepalli Manda, Guntur District respectively. The total investment proposed is Rs 1350 crores and will provide employment to 1250 youth. This mega project will start its commercial production in March 2019.

Rain Group has expressed interest to set up a Calcined Petroleum Coke Plant, Cement Grinding Unit, R&D Facility & Waste Heat Recovery Power Plant at Atchutapuram SEZ, Visakhapatnam district in an area of 80.33 acres. The total investment proposed is 1046 crores and will provide employment to 1,000 people. The project will be completed in 3 phases and the expected turnover is 1168.94 crores.

Indo Count Industries Limited has proposed activities such as spinning, weaving to processing, cutting and sewing in an area of 100 acres with an investment of Rs. 250 crores.  The unit would provide employment to 2,600 people and commercial production would start in August 2018.

Similarly, Mohan Spintex India Limited will set up a similar unit at Mallavalli Village, Bapulapadu Mandal, Krishna district in an area of 81 acres. The total investment proposed is 611 crores and will generate direct employment to 2000 youth.

Vishwaa Apparels has also expressed interest in setting up a garmenting apparel unit with a total investment of 20.10 crores in an area of 10 acres. The unit will be completed in 2 phases and the expected turnover is 1.5 Million garment / 16 mil USD (approx. INR 100 cr). 2,000 people would be provide jobs once this unit is grounded.

Interestingly HCL Technologies which has signed a MoU with the Andhra Pradesh Government on March 30^th  to set up an IT and Training centers has come up with a revised investment plan. As per the new proposals, HCL will now invest 700 crores and will provide direct employment to 7500 people.

Later, the Chief Minister held a detailed review on the status of MoU’s signed across various departments. A total of 1,569 MoU are being tracked by 17 departments with a committed investment of Rs. 16,87,845 crores. The committed employment is 30,74,933.

Out of the 1,569 units, 343 of them are in G1 Category which means that they have gone into production. 54 of them are in G2 (Trail Production), 43 in G3 (Machinery erected) and 152 in G4 stage which means that civil works have commenced. It can be noted that 33 projects are ready for foundation stone.

The rest 944 units are in R1, R2, R3, and R4 category, a stage where allotments and approvals are in progress.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the status of projects signed in Partnerships Summit of 2016 and 2017. While a total of 332 projects were signed in the partnership summit held in 2016, with an investment of 4,94,192 crores, 134 of them are in green category which says that civil works have commenced and are in beyond stages. Out of the 134 units, 18 units are ready for foundation laying ceremony. 198 units are yet to commence civil works.

Coming to the Partnership Summit 2017, a total of 667 MoU were signed with a investment of 10,22092. Out of the 667 projects, 98 units are in green and 569 are in red categories. Out of the 98 units, 22 of them have gone into production, 2 of them are in trail production, machinery has been erected for 14 units and 54 of them have their civil works commenced. 6 of the units are ready for foundation ceremony.

The Chief Minister also reviewed the cement prices especially in the retail sector and asked the department to monitor and take inputs from the consumer using the call center platform. “If the retailer sells cement higher than the market price, for such units, power supply will be cut and eventually the unit will be closed,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said that it is important to bear in mind that those firms willing to invest in the State should provide large employment opportunities and training to local youth.

“Employment and non technical training to local youth is important. The Industries Department should take up employment analysis time to time,” the Chief Minister said.

He also suggested that a website should be opened immediately to ascertain the local employment data. Employees names with their designations and addresses should be made public, he added. 

The Chief Minister said that a special policy should be formulated for textile and silk production industry and asked the industries department to push for brining major players and brands in the clothing sector to Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Minister said that building trust and confidence in an investor is extremely important and critical and has suggested all the Ministers and Secretaries to keep this in mind. “Continuous follow ups with investors and confidence building should be done by all department heads with investors. If need be, consultants for impact creation should be appointed for all 13 districts, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister felt that departments should be more responsible in attracting investments. He pointed out that the Economic Development Board should play a critical part in bringing investments to the State and asked them to further boost their activities. “EDB should build a common interest between the investor and State,” he added.

“Not just during industrial summits but departments should also bring new contacts and investments. Follow up of MoU signed is also important,” the Chief Minister said.

MSME International Day will be celebrated on the 27^th June. A number of state level, cluster level and district level activities have been planned for that day.