Kadapa to become a steel manufacturing hub: CM Jagan

Kadapa: Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that Kadapa district will soon become a steel city. On Wednesday, he and JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal participated in the foundation stone for the Kadapa Steel Plant (KSP) at Sunnapuralle Palle village in the YSR district.

In the first phase, JSW steel will invest Rs 3,300 crore in the proposed plant, with one million tonnes of steel produced per annum. The facility will be upgraded to two million tonnes per year in the second phase and will eventually reach three million tonnes capacity per annum. The total investment for the plant is Rs 8800 crore.

Speaking at the event, Jagan said, "With the ancillary units around the JSW Steel Plant, Kadapa will soon become a steel city. I am proud to say that we are spending Rs 700 crores to make every arrangement to set up the plant as soon as possible. The electric manufacturing unit in Kopparthi will provide 1 lakh jobs".

JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal said that KSP would run on green fuel and become a futuristic world-class steel plant. Though it begins as a small one, it will grow into more significant dimensions in time, like the other steel plants established by JSW, and cater to the round development of the surrounding areas. The KSP will have trained people who worked in JSW steel plants in Karnataka, Odisha, and Gujarat.

Further, he said, "Former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy is a legendary leader and mentor as far as AP was concerned. I always felt comfortable whenever I was in his company. About 17 years ago, Rajasekhar Reddy once told me to train the young boy Jagan Mohan Reddy in business. Then, Jagan came to Mumbai and met me. I now feel I have returned home here to establish the steel plant,".

JSW, set up in Bellary in 1995 with an initial production capacity of 1.20 million tonnes per annum, has reached 13 MTPA and is poised to become the world's largest steel plant with 25 MTPA in the next few years.