In a bid to recoup its image as an investment destination, the state government is lining up a number of MoUs on fresh investments to the tune of close to Rs 3 lakh crore, which are expected to be signed during the Partnership Summit scheduled from January 11-13 here.
While the Partnership Summit is a national event being organised by the Union Commerce Ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the state government wants to make full use it as an effective platform to project AP as an investor-friendly state, a senior government official told Business Standard on Monday.
The image of the state had touched rock-bottom in the light of political uncertainty, particularly when the venue of the previous edition of the Partnership Summit was shifted to Chennai after the state government led by then chief minister K Rosaiah expressed its inability to host the event.
According to the official, the government is hoping to regain the image in the eyes of global and Indian investors by lining up the MoUs to drive home the point that investments are coming into the state irrespective of the adverse political environment.
With the over 35-day long general strike and mass political agitations for separate statehood in the Telangana region and the Opposition sponsored no-confidence motion against the government firmly behind him, Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is also looking forward to use the event to assure the investor community of much needed political stability in the state.
Of the investment proposals, close to Rs 80,000 crore is coming from new power projects. However, the officials are a bit concerned as the power sector is going through a difficult phase in terms of raising funds.
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This apart, about Rs 25,000 crore worth proposals have already been forwarded to the state level investment promotion board (SIPB) headed by the chief minister and are expected to be cleared at its meeting on Wednesday. These proposals would also be part of the proposed MoUs, the official, who did not wish to be quoted, said.
Investment proposals worth about Rs 40,000 crore in the refinery sector, led by Kuwait-based Al Qebla Al Watya Inc, are also expected to be showcased during the three-day event. The Kuwaiti company had recently signed an MoU with the AP government for setting up a refinery project in Visakhapatnam with an initial 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity at an investment of $2 billion with a long term plan to scale up the capacity by three times.
“We are very upbeat on this refinery project. The company delegation is coming in a chartered flight from Kuwait to receive the land allotment letter from chief minister during the Partnership Summit,” the official said.
While the officers committee at its previous meeting had shortlisted about 14 MoU proposals, a number of other requests are currently under examination. The industries department issued an advertisement on Monday inviting prospective investors to send in their proposals by January 6. Investment proposals in cement, pharma and a few proposals from public sector companies are also expected to be taken up for signing the MoUs.
The companies that have zeroed in on private industrial parks, such as Sri City in Nellore district for setting up their units, would also be part of the MoU list.