Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy performed Bhumi Puja and laid the foundation stone for the construction of Rs 8800 crore Kadapa Steel Plant (KSP) at Sunnapurallapalle of YSR Kdapa district on Wednesday.
Along with Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group which would build the 3-D model green steel plant in two phases, the Chief Minister broke the customary coconut and lighted the traditional lamp to mark the auspiciousness of the ceremonies. He also planted the Neem and Peepal saplings.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister thanked Sajjan Jindal for coming forward to establish the green steel plant here and giving confidence on the future development of the area which was neglected for several years after the death of his father and former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy.
He said the area despite its shortcomings will march ahead with the JSW Group, which has so far invested Rs 1.7 lakh crore the world over, coming forward to set up the steel plant.
Describing the Kadapa Steel Plant as the long-cherished dream of the people in the district, the Chief Minister said the surroundings of places where steel plants are established would generally develop with ancillary units and hoped the area would develop like Vijayanagar in Karnataka and Visakhapatnam in AP.
The Government has allotted Rs 700 crore to provide infrastructure like roads, water and power supply to the steel plant and this would also result in the development of surrounding areas, he said.
The first phase of the KSP involving an investment of Rs 3300 crore and having an annual production capacity of 10 lakh metric tons will be commissioned in 24 to 30 months and in the second phase, the production capacity of the Plant will be enhanced by 20 lakh metric tons 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.
Sajjan Jindal, who also spoke, said that the Kadapa Steel Plant would be the greenest steel plant in the world and fuel growth in the area in the days to come.
