IMR Metallurgical Resources AG, the Swiss commodity trading group, has evinced interest in making an investment of more than ₹12,000 crore and set up a steel plant with a production capacity of 10 million tonnes (MT) in YSR Kadapa district.
The IMR representatives met Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday. Explaining the company activities to him, they said the company has presence in countries such as Indonesia, South Africa, Mexico, Columbia, Italy, Ukraine and India. The activities include coal, iron ore and gold mines excavation and also involved in the power production and steel industries, they said.
Mr. Jagan said the Andhra Pradesh government had hastened the process to set up a steel plant in YSR Kadapa district. The government entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for the supply of iron ore, he said.
‘Locals stand to gain’
The State government was ready to provide water, power and other facilities to the company if it makes the investment. Krishnapatnam port, railway connectivity and highways were readily available for transportation purposes. The proposed IMR steel plant would help transform the industrial landscape in the district once it comes up. Moreover, it would provide better employment opportunities for local people, he said.
The IMR representatives said the region would become a steel hub once the plant was set up.
Chief Secretary Neelam Sawhney, Industries Special Chief Secretary Rajat Bhargav, IMR-AG chairman Hans-Rudolf Wild, Director Anirudh Misra, Group CFO and Business Development Carl Dilner, project president Arindam De, Finance Director Sanjay Sinha, and AP High Grade Steels Limited Managing Director P Madhusudhan were among those present.
