Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Petroleum, Natural resources and Steel said that Andhra Pradesh would receive INR 2 lakh crore investments in the coming five years because world leaders around the world are interested to invest in the east coast. Major players in the petroleum sector are showing their inclination towards investing in Andhra Pradesh. He also responded positively to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s request for the supply of iron ore from National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) to
the proposed plant in Kadapa district.
There are talks going on between NMDC and the state government, and the agreement will be signed soon in this regard. The Chief Minister is hopeful that the investment will pick up the pace with the setting up of Kadapa’s Steel Plant, expansion project in Vishakhapatnam and establishment of the Petro complex at Kakinada. The Union Minister also ordered ONGC to clear the outstanding compensation immediately of those who were affected by the off-shore drilling by oil and Natural Commission (ONGC) limited. The Chief Minister sought for equal distribution of royalty collected by the union government from oil and gas companies. This is because of the environmental risk that these companies pose which also leads to depletion of fish. The Chief Minister also urged the Union Minister for setting up of Greenfield crude oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Kakinada which is mentioned in Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014.
The meeting was attended by Union Secretary for Steels, Binoy Roy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum, Amarnath, NMDC Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Sasi Shankar, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) CMD Mukesh Kumar Surana, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) CMD PK Rath and others.
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