ANANTAPUR: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy would offer Bhumi Puja for the long-pending steel plant project in Sunnapurallapalle village of YSR district on February 15. This follows an offer from JSW Steel to invest Rs 8,800 crore in two phases for setting up the plant in the Jammalamadugu region.
As per the present plan, the work on the plant with a three-million-tonne capacity per annum and providing jobs to about 25,000 people would be completed in three years. A total of 3,295 acres have been acquired for the project in the Jammalamadugu area.
The YSR district administration has begun levelling the allotted land for the ambitious project. Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy and Jammalamadugu MLA Sudhir Reddy visited the spot on Monday.
India’s steel-making capacity is expected to touch 300 million tonnes per annum by 2030 as per the National Steel Policy, 2017. In line with the promotion of industrial growth in the state, the YSR Steel Corporation Ltd (erstwhile AP High-Grade Steels Ltd) was incorporated on November 21, 2019, as a wholly-owned company of the AP government with a mandate to establish a steel plant in the YSR District.
Subsequently, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for APHSL on December 23, 2019, at Sunnapuraalla Palle village. With a capacity of up to 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), the company was to produce high-grade steel products. It aimed to leverage its connectivity by road, rail, sea and air, with proximity to raw material sources and access to major auto and industrial hubs. Expectations were that it would drive the region’s growth by providing direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 25,000 people.
However, later, JSW came forward to set up the industry by promising an investment of Rs 8,800 crore in the project, involving the works of the first and second phases.
