Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he has urged the management of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel to set up its proposed steel plant in Gadchiroli.
The company which has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for an investment worth INR 40,000 crore in the state, also has Konkan’s Ratnagiri district on its radar. It plans to set up a green steel plant with a capacity of six million tonnes per annum (MPTA), Fadnavis said.
Fadnavis was speaking during the concluding function of the three-day Advantage Vidarbha event patronized by the Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari.
Fadnavis said that the state government has also signed MoUs worth INR 2.70 crore for producing green hydrogen with seven major companies. These include NTPC Green Energy, Avada Green Hydrogen, Renew E-fuels, Inox Air Products, L&T Green Tech, JSW Green Hydrogen and Welspun Godavari.
The total capacity of these proposed projects stands at 910 kilo tonnes per annum.
These projects would create 64,000 jobs, said a statement issued by the state’s information directorate.
The proposed investment by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel is expected to create 20,000 jobs, the release stated.
The state government is also working on encouraging farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and attracting investment in the segment apart from promoting projects for value chain addition in the farm sector in Vidarbha, the release added.
Gadkari in his speech at the closing function said that there is a scope for holding the event at a larger scale in the coming years.
“In future Advantage Vidarbha would have separate pavilions for each district of the region. The idea is that no one should be left behind. The event ended up with discussions on a number of sectors,” he said.
Gadkari also stressed on promoting coal gasification projects which can lead to production of dimethyl ether, which in turn can be blended into cooking gas reducing its cost. The gasification facilities can be set up in coal mines of Vidarbha, he said.
