Andhra Pradesh signs MoUs worth Rs 80,000 crore

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government, on Tuesday, announced signing of 10 Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs) with public and private entities including NTPC, Hero MotoCorp, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Defence Research & Development Organisation involving investment of around Rs 80,000 crore.

NTPC has agreed to set up a 4,000 MW thermal power project involving an investment of over Rs 24,000 crore and a 1,000 MW solar project costing over Rs 6,000 crore. While the solar power park will come up in Anantapur district, the thermal plant will be set up at Pudipadaka in Visakhapatnam district.

NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Arup Roy Choudhury signed the agreements with AP government's energy officials in the presence of Union Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

Appreciating the efforts of the state government to augment power generation capacities to fuel development, Goyal noted if all goes as per the state government's plans, it should have a capacity to generate 27,000 MW of power by 2019, up from the current 9,000 MW.

Meanwhile, Hero MotoCorp, the largest two-wheeler manufacturer globally by volume, signed an agreement with the AP government to set up a manufacturing facility involving an investment of Rs 3,000 crore. The state has agreed to allot 600 acres for the plant near Sri City in Chittoor district, close to Chennai.

Solar Energy Corporation of India has agreed to set up a solar park with a capacity of 2,500 MW. The AP government has also allotted over 1,100 acres to Defence Research and Development Organisation in Chittoor district for setting up a laboratory for electronic warfare, involving over Rs 10,000 crore of investment.