Naidu, Union minister discuss steel plant plans
Vijayawada:A delegation from the Union ministry of steel, led by minister of state Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma, met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu at his residence in Undavalli on Monday to discuss measures to be taken up to revive and strengthen the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
The meeting focused on strategies to strengthen the steel plant following the Centre's announcement of a financial package. The Union minister thanked Naidu for offering state support, including the deployment of the Special Protection Force to safeguard the plant.
Naidu discussed ongoing efforts to revive the plant, particularly the functioning of the two blast furnaces and the necessary steps to restart the third furnace. He stressed the emotional connection the people of Andhra Pradesh have with the steel plant, calling for both state and Centre collaboration to restore its former glory.
The Chief Minister thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support in securing the financial package and emphasised the continued coordination between the State and the Centre on this matter. He underscored the need to reduce maintenance costs while improving efficiency and capacity to meet production targets.
Union ministry of steel secretary Sandeep Poundrik, joint secretary Abhijit Narendra, NMDC CMD Amitava Mukherjee and RINL CMD in-charge Ajith Kumar Saxena attended the meeting.
