Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group to invest Rs 750 billion in core power, mining and cement projects in the next five years in Madhya Pradesh

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group will invest Rs 75,000 crore in core power, mining and cement projects in the next five years in Madhya Pradesh.Mr Anil Ambani, Chairman, Reliance ADA Group, announced his company's plans to increase the capacity of the two power projects at Sasan and Chitrangi, taking the total combined capacity of the two projects to 12,000 MW, and set up a cement plant with a capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum. He made the announcement at the Global Investors Summit-II here.

“Earlier, we were investing Rs 50,000 crore in the State, but now we plan to invest Rs 75,000 crore in the next five years. This would mean Rs 15,000 crore a year, and Rs 60 crore a day,” he said.“We will be setting up 10 million tonne a year cement plant in the State, which would be enhanced to 20 MTPA,” he said, adding “the cement plant will be utilising the fly ash and lime in the area.

“We are developing the country's largest private sector coal mines in the State with a production capacity of 25 million tonnes per annum of coal.”Mr Ambani sought infrastructure development, mainly for logistics, and cautioned that measures should be taken to protect the environment.

The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan, said, “Land will be made available for air strips, but the industry also has to ensure that they follow the time line (commitments made for implementing the projects) and that employment is generated in the State.” The Chitrangi Power Project is being implemented by the Chitrangi Power Private Ltd (previously M.P. Power Generation Private Limited), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Power. It is set to develop a coal-based power project at Chitrangi Tehsil, Singrauli District, Madhya Pradesh.

In September 2007, Reliance Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Madhya Pradesh for the project. The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has obtained permission from the Central Government to use the incremental coal from the captive coal blocks allocated for Sasan UMPP.

The project is being planned to attain a final capacity of 5,940 MW.The environmental clearance for the project was accorded by the Environment Ministry on May 28, 2010. At the two-day global summit, the State Government signed 107 MoUs worth Rs 2,35,736 crore.