KADAPA: Scripting a new chapter in the industrial landscape of the drought-prone Rayalaseema region, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu formally launched the ground-level construction works of the Rs 16,350-crore JSW Rayalaseema Integrated Steel Plant at Sunnapurallapalle in Jammalamadugu constituency on Friday.
Flanked by JSW Group Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal and Union Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, the Chief Minister also grounded the co-located JSW Neo Energy Solar Captive Power Project.
Concurrently, Naidu virtually inaugurated the JSW Industrial Park spanning 1,166 acres in Vizianagaram district, backed by an initial investment of Rs 531 crore from Jindal Group to build plug-and-play manufacturing infrastructure for upcoming industries.
The JSW steel facility will be executed in two distinct phases to achieve an ultimate production capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by March 2028, collectively creating over 2,700 direct jobs.
‘Coalition govt turned steel plant proj into reality’
To power the facility using strictly sustainable parameters, the co-located JSW Neo Energy captive grid will deploy a massive 3,850 MW solar and wind power framework costing Rs 20,350 crore, establishing the facility as a modern “Green Steel” pioneer.
Addressing a massive public gathering, Naidu said for over a decade, Rayalaseema had waited for this day. He criticised the previous regime for staging deceptive back-to-back stone-laying ceremonies in 2019 and 2023 without piling a single brick, asserting that the NDA government has finally turned the project into an active reality.
To eliminate logistical bottlenecks, the State is executing a 15 km pipeline from the Gandikota reservoir to deliver 2 TMC of dedicated water, alongside advanced road, rail, and port connectivity matrices.
Drawing a sharp contrast in governance paradigms, Naidu juxtaposed his administration’s successful industrialisation track record with past mining scandals. He detailed how the TDP-led government brought the Kia Motors plant to Anantapur in 2017 against fierce national competition, noting that the plant has already rolled out 19 lakh cars, and exported over 3 lakh vehicles to 90 countries, completely transforming the district’s economic profile.
In contrast, Naidu pointed out the exploitation under the late YSR regime in 2007 via Brahmani Steels, noting that despite a massive allocation of 14,000 acres and promises of a dedicated airport, not a single steel sheet was manufactured.
Instead, captive mining leases from the Obulapuram mines were used to plunder high-grade iron ore and smuggle wealth to foreign nations, eventually landing the perpetrators in prison. He remarked that Rayalaseema’s natural resources will now be utilised strictly to create local employment and wealth for the region.
Lauding the Chief Minister’s long-term foresight, Sajjan Jindal stated that leaders with Naidu’s calibre of 25-year planning are exceptionally rare in India, making it a privilege for industrialists to partner with the State. He announced that the JSW Group is committed to making a cumulative investment of nearly Rs 50,000 crore capital outlay across various sectors in AP, aimed at generating over 50,000 jobs. Following a pitch from the CM, he expressed interest in exploring investment avenues within the upcoming Tirupati Space City and Kurnool Drone City, while evaluating the commercial deployment of JSW’s Shield AI defence drone tech.
Naidu assured displaced families of the Gandikota project that their Rehabilitation and Resettlement packages would be settled swiftly, while announcing that the State will ground the Purvodaya Scheme by August 15, anchoring a `40,000-crore public funding pipeline, and an additional `60,000-crore private investment framework to establish a Global Horticulture Hub at Madanapalle.