VIJAYAWADA/KADAPA: Days after announcing that the government would establish its own steel plant in Kadapa, if the Centre does not come forward in this regard, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday invited Fortescue Metals Group, an Australian firm with expertise in iron ore and natural gas drilling, to set up a steel plant in the State.
Interacting with the representatives of the firm at the World Cities Summit in Singapore on Sunday, he put forward the proposal assuring that his government would extend all the possible support if the firm agreed to take up the project. The firm’s chief representative, South Asia, Gowtam Varma, responded positively and said a decision would be taken after discussing the proposal with their allied industries in steel manufacturing.
The State government and the Centre have been at loggerheads over the past few months with the former insisting on setting up of the steel plant in Kadapa district to fulfil one of the promises made in the AP Reorganisation Act, and the latter ruling out the feasibility of such a proposal in an affidavit to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, BJP State president Kanna Lakshminarayana reiterated the Centre’s commitment to establish the steel factory. Speaking to reporters in Kadapa, he said that the State had not submitted a detailed report to the Centre on allocation of land and iron ore mines.
“There is a piece of private land in the land allocated by the State government for the establishment of the steel plant. Similarly, the iron ore mines were leased to some private firms till 2020. The Centre will announce laying of foundation stone for the steel plant as soon as the State government gives clarity on the land and iron ore mines’ allocation,” he said, adding that the Centre would set up a steel factory in Telangana as well.
Firm’s plans
Fortescue Metals Group has come forward to set up a floating storage degasification unit in AP. Its representatives informed Naidu that the firm was planning to set up a lithium battery manufacturing unit in India with the cooperation of Isro.