Reliance Industries Ltd to invest Rs 55,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Sunday signed MoUs worth Rs 55,000 crore with the AP government for investments in energy, digital infrastructure, citizen services and industrial development over the next five years. 

Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, who was expected to attended the CII Partnership Summit and Sunrise AP Investment Meet, 2018, skipped it for personal reasons.

RIL president Kiran Thomas signed the MoUs with the AP government led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and IT minister Nara Lokesh on the second day of the partnership summit.

Mr Lokesh said that he met Mukesh Ambani in October 2017 and explained the steps being taken for the development of the electronics sector, the state’s business-friendly policies, the subsidies that the government was willing to offer and the infrastructure in AP. Mr Ambani agreed to invest in AP after the meeting.

A joint venture between RIL and British Petroleum International Ltd signed an MoU with the AP government which will bring in $6 billion (nearly Rs 40,000 crore) for three projects in the Krishna-Godavari basin for setting up plants and smart utilisation of the state’s natural resources such as developing the discovered offshore gas reserves in Block KD6 situated in the Krishna Godavari basin. 

The development of the three projects is expected to produce 30-35 million cubic metres (one billion cubic feet) of gas a day, in phases between 2020 and 2022, and will create considerable direct and indirect employment during the construction phase over the next five years. 

Reliance Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of RIL, will also invest Rs 15,000 crore in a world-class manufacturing unit on around 150 acres of land near the airport in Tirupati and world-class infrastructure such as institute of excellence, startup and few others on around 100 acres in Amaravati. This investment in the fields of digital infrastructure, citizen services and industrial development, is expected to generate over 20,000 new jobs. 

Mr Naidu said that Reliance Jio in Tirupati will manufacture one million mobile phones a year. RIL is also interested in investing in the agriculture-based sector in AP to improve the production of vegetables and sell the vegetables in Reliance Stores. 

The combination of Strong Governance (AP government) and Strong Technology (Reliance) will give the best results for the country’s growth, Mr Naidu added.