The Hindu Business Line : Gujarat to attract investments over Rs 87,000 crore

GUJARAT is set to attract investments exceeding Rs 87,000 crore in the next three to five years with leading industrial houses announcing major expansion plans for the State at the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat festival here.

Leading corporate houses that include Reliance, Essar, Larsen and Toubro, the Adani Group, Videocon and Torrent made announcements regarding their investment plans at the Global Investor Summit that opened at the sprawling Science City complex on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

With over 30 Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) being signed at the event, the State Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, claimed in his inaugural speech that investments worth Rs 51,000 crore have been firmed up. The figure does not include the commitments made by Reliance Industries Ltd, which State Government officials say would alone top Rs 15,000 crore.

The Reliance Chairman, Mr Mukesh Ambani, said that the company would supply piped gas to over 20 cities of the State. Reliance would transport the gas found by the company on the eastern coast of the country to Gujarat, Mr Ambani said. "We plan to supply piped gas to lakhs of households in 20-22 cities in Gujarat. That was a dream of my father, the late Dhirubhai Ambani, and we hope to have the network going by 2008-09," Mr Ambani said. The Reliance Chairman also said that his company plans to set up a port-linked Special Economic Zone in the State, although he did not give details.

The Essar Group Chairman, Mr Shashi Ruia, announced that his company would double investments in the State in the next couple of years to enhance its steel capacity, revive the Jamnagar refinery project and a 1,500-MW power project.

Larsen and Toubro, which has a heavy engineering equipment manufacturing facility at Hazira in south Gujarat, plans to set up a power plant at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore. The group will also start taking students for its 4,000-seat engineering college at Baroda from May this year.

Shell Hazira has committed to invest Rs 3,500 crore to double the capacity of its liquefied natural gas terminal from 2.5 million tonnes per annum to 5 million tonnes in the next two years and further to 10 million tonnes. The Videocon group has pledged Rs 2,200 crore investment for expanding its colour picture tubes manufacturing facility at Bharuch at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore and setting up a television glass unit at Bhuj.

Local companies, the Adani Group and Torrent have also committed large investments for the State. While the Adanis are contemplating a Rs 10,000- crore expansion of their port and SEZ at Mundra, they are also looking at a new port and SEZ at Maroli or Umbergaon and a 1,000-MW power project at Mundra. The pharmaceuticals to power Torrent Group has committed investments to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore to expand its business.

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