New Delhi
Mukesh Ambani, the country’s richest man and chairman of Reliance Industries, is going to set up a biogas plant outside Gujarat. Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will set up 500 compressed biogas plants (CBG) in the next five years. For this the company will invest Rs 65 thousand crores. According to Economic Times, Reliance will set up this biogas plant in Andhra Pradesh.
This will be the largest investment made by the company outside Gujarat under the clean energy initiative. The plan was finalized between Anant Ambani and Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh in Mumbai. Anant Ambani heads RIL’s clean energy initiatives. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between RIL and Andhra Pradesh Industries Department in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada.
Lakhs of people will get employment
People aware of the matter said Rs 130 crore will be invested in each plant and they will be built on barren land in the state. According to the estimates of the state government, these plants are expected to provide direct and indirect employment to 2.50 lakh people.
Incentives for biofuel projects
The Andhra Pradesh government has introduced incentives for biofuel projects under the state’s recently notified Integrated Clean Energy Policy. This includes a subsidy of 20% on fixed capital investment on the CBG plant for five years as well as full reimbursement of State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) and electricity duty for five years.
‘Creating jobs is the main goal’
Minister Nara Lokesh said, ‘Creating jobs is our main goal. For this, we have brought many incentives in our Integrated Clean Energy Policy to attract investors and create employment. Reliance has already invested extensively in Andhra Pradesh and we look forward to supporting them in further investments.
Farmers’ income will increase
A government official said, ‘Estimates show that farmers will be able to increase their income by Rs 30,000 per acre annually.’ Also, the compressed biogas plant will mean many financial and non-financial benefits for the state. Initial estimates peg it at Rs 57,650 crore for 500 plants through SGST collection, electricity duty and employment generation tax over 25 years.
