Essar to invest Rs 10,000 crore more

The Essar group will invest Rs 10,000 crore in Gujarat in the next two years, said Shashi Ruia, chairman of the group.

The group has sizeable investments in its steel and power plants at Hazira and the proposed refinery at Jamnagar.

Ruia was in Ahmedabad on Monday to participate in the three-day Vibrant Gujarat Uttarayan 2004 and the Vishwa Gujarati Parivaar Mohatsav which began on Monday.

The three-day event is being organised by the government of Gujarat and is being sponsored by the Essar group.

"Essar, as a group, has already invested over Rs 16,000 crore in the state. We have planned to invest further Rs 10,000 crore in Gujarat through the completion our existing refinery at Vadinar, addition of new capacities in our steel complex, and setting up new power generation capacities at Vadinar and Hazira. The funds will also be used for the expansion of refinery and extraction of gas through coal bed methane fields at Mehasana," Ruia said.

Essar started its first manufacturing venture at Hazira in Gujarat in 1988.

"We were the first to build world class assets to manufacture steel and considerable power generation capacity at Hazira. Our mega oil refinery project will go on stream in the near future. Essar-Hutch is the leading telecom operator in Gujarat connecting one million people with the rest of the world. The group also provides 70,000 direct and indirect jobs," the group chairman said.

Besides, the group has been involved in bringing Narmada water to Gujarat by constructing parts of the Narmada Canal and a network of pipelines to bring water to interior areas of the state, especially Saurashtra.

"We are working towards the Gujarat chief minister's dream of making Gujarat the 'Petro-Capital' of India.

Essar plans to set up over 300 petrol retail stations in the state as a part of the 2,000 petrol stations that Essar is setting up all over India.

This will create 300 entrepreneurs in Gujarat in addition to providing jobs to 3,000 people," Ruia said.

The group has so far invested over Rs 7,000 crore in the proposed refinery in Jamnagar, around Rs 7,000 crore in the Hazira steel plant and another Rs 2,000 crore in the Hazira power plant.

Essar Power is one of the five independent power producers in Gujarat. It also has a presence in coal bed methane exploration in north Gujarat and in other projects like the Narmada canal and pipeline project.

Ruia said: "Gujarat has witnessed an all-round growth and is being recognised as a leading industrial state of the country.

"Gujarat's 1,600 km long coastline, 40 ports, large salt works, our world's largest sponge iron plant, world's largest ship-breaking yard, and its eminent position in the production of diamonds, pure zari, art-silk, cotton, groundnut, milk, tobacco, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and petrochemicals are just examples of this growth," he said.