By IANS
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Sunday laid the foundation stone for south India's biggest private sector steel plant at Jammalamadugu in his native Kadapa district.
The project, Brahmani Steel Plant, is coming up on 10,670 acres of land in four villages with a total investment of Rs.125 billion. It will have a capacity of 4.3 million tonnes of steel annually.
Phase one of the plant, with an investment of Rs.45 billion, is likely to be ready in 18 months with a capacity of two million tonnes.
According to the promoters of the plant, phase II would add a capacity of 2.3 million tonnes in the next one decade while the investment would be around Rs.75 billion to Rs.80 billion.
This will become the biggest steel plant in the state. Public sector Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam is spread over 22,000 acres and produces 3.5 million tonnes of steel annually.
The project will provide direct employment to about 16,500 people and create 10,000 indirect jobs. Several ancillary units are also expected to come up.
The project will give a boost to industrialisation in the backward Rayalseema region. Comprising districts of Kadpa, Anantapur, Chittoor and Kurnool, it is notorious for factional violence.
The promoter of the steel plant is Janardhan Reddy, a member of Karnataka legislative council, from Bellary.
Speaking at the ceremony, Rajasekhara Reddy came down heavily on the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for claiming that he was the promoter of the steel plant and that he was using the name of Janardhan Reddy.
The state cabinet had Wednesday decided to allot 10,670 acres for the steel plant, at a price of Rs.18,500 per acre. The market value in the area is reportedly not more than Rs.6,000 per acre.
Since it is a wasteland, no family has been displaced. The Viskhapatnam plant had led to relocation of nearly 14,000 people.