RE leads charge as Andhra bags ₹13 trn investment proposals at CII summit

Andhra Pradesh drew Rs 13.25 trillion investments at the CII Partnership Summit, with renewables taking the largest share as global players commit to big-ticket projects

Renewable sector steals the show as Andhra Pradesh grabs investments to the tune of around Rs 13.25 trillion during the three-day CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam. The sector grabbed a bulk of Rs 5.33 trillion out of the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed during the summit.

 

This includes big-ticket investments like $12 billion plans by Brookfield-backed Evren, a clean energy platform that the global major runs in India through a joint venture with Axis Energy, and a fresh $6.7 billion roadmap by ReNew Energy Global Plc (ReNew) in addition to $2.6 billion it had already committed. This takes the cumulative investment of the company to over $9.3 billion. AM Green Group also signed a deal to set up multiple 2G bio-refineries to produce cost-effective green hydrocarbons and 180 KTPA (kilo-tonnes per annum) sustainable aviation fuel with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore ($1.13 billion).

 

These investments are expected to be a catalyst in the state’s ambitious target of becoming a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047. Talking to Business Standard, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said during the summit that he is looking at a bigger play in the green energy space by promoting hybrid-producing solar and wind, pumped storage units, and producing green hydrogen and ammonia as well. “Our idea is to make full use of it. One by one, the ecosystem is being created. I am creating a green hydrogen valley,” he said, adding that the state will look at exports as well.

 

The CII Partnership Summit witnessed participation of over 4,975 industrialists, including 640 international delegates. It included 41 business sessions with 91 speakers, and 16 business meetings were organised with eight countries, and the chief minister himself participated in 24 bilateral meetings. Addressing the media late on Saturday, he said that the summit attracted investments to the tune of Rs 13.25 lakh crore with 613 MoUs providing employment opportunities to 1.63 million youth, and during the 17 months, the state government attracted investments of more than Rs 20 trillion.

 

What other sectors attracted large investments at the summit?

 

Other sectors that attracted sizeable investments were Rs 2.8 trillion in the industrial sector and Rs 2 trillion in the infrastructure sector. Naidu told the media that the government is fast-tracking clearances of all the projects. Information technology, electronics, and communications sector too witnessed investment deals worth Rs 1.6 trillion, while Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority saw Rs 48,711 crore investments, tourism around Rs 21,036 crore, food processing Rs 13,008 crore, urban development Rs 4,944 crore, and textiles around Rs 4,490 crore, among others.

 

How did industry leaders assess Andhra Pradesh’s policy direction?

 

Rajiv Memani, President, CII, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, EY, said that the entire curation of the policies by the Government of Andhra Pradesh for the three global megatrends, including geoeconomics and geopolitics, AI and technology, and sustainability and energy transition, has been very appropriate and far-sighted, which will help the state accelerate and benefit India at large in the various sectors.

 

What did Naidu say about competition among states for investments?

 

Responding to a question on the ongoing debate over Hwaseung shifting its investment from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh and the sharp reactions from Karnataka on Google choosing Visakhapatnam for their landmark investment, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said that cooperative federalism thrives on healthy competition. He stated that only through rivalry among states can citizens truly benefit. “Competition is inevitable; only when states compete do people benefit. If everyone becomes complacent, how will investments grow?” he said.