Oil and gas explorations perk up East Godavari

An industrial boom in the medium-level sector is sweeping East Godavari district.

The area is attracting huge investments following the success of oil and natural gas exploration and the likely break-throughs by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and private players including Reliance Industries, Cairn Energy and Gujarat State Petroleum Limited.

Apart from this, improved efficiency of the Kakinada Sea Ports Limited and power projects too have triggered investments in this sector.

In 2004-05, medium-level industries worth nearly Rs 600 crore were set up in East Godavari. These include oil refinery, steel industry, shrimp processing, paper mills, prawn feed manufacturing and carbon dioxide gas packaging.

According to general manager of District Industries Centre (DIC) V R V R Naik, two major power projects and expansion of an existing project were initiated in the fiscal ended March 31, 2005. In all, nearly Rs 3,000 crore is currently being pumped into the power generation sector in the district.

In addition to the existing 235-mw plant running on gas, an expansion project is now in progress at Jegurupadu at a cost of Rs 720 crore.

The Goutami Power Project, designed to produce 464 mw of power, is coming up at Samalkota at a cost of Rs 1,300 crore. Similarly, the Vemagiri power project of the GMR group is all set for construction of its nearly Rs 1,000-crore project at Rajahmundry, Naik said.

Last fiscal, DIC fixed an investment target of nearly Rs 400 crore but achieved processing of investments worth Rs 600 crore, he said.

"Similarly, a target to process launching of 17 industries was fixed but we attracted and processed as many as 21 industries in 2004-05," Naik said. In the small-scale sector, 3,047 applications for small-scale industries were processed against a target of 2,823 applications.

He said that 2,620 large, medium and small-scale industries were set up in the last fiscal. During the same year, the total investments was nearly Rs 400 crore.

"The government's master plan to create a coastal industrial corridor from Srikakulam to Nellore touching nearly 10 districts is also likely to boost industrialisation here," he said.