Power Of 21 Seats! Vizag Steel Plant Gets 11,440 Cr

In what can be a significant boost to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant aka Vizag Steel Plant, the Union Government today announced Rs 11,440 Crore financial package towards its revival. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made an official announcement on Friday, following approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday. This comes as a major achievement of the AP government. With 21 MPs from AP supporting the Central government, it indeed turned out to be good for the state.

Ever since Chandrababu Naidu won second-term as AP CM, he has been giving importance to Vizag Steel Plant issue. During his Delhi visits, Chandrababu raked up the issue of Vizag Steel Plant. He met PM Narendra Modi, FM Nirmala Sitharaman and Steel Minister Krishnamurthy Kumaraswamy during his Delhi trips and pushed for the revival package. Finally, after several meetings and discussions, the CCEA yesterday approved the much-needed package to revitalize the steel plant.

Vizag Steel Plant’s Losses

The Vizag Steel Plant is facing severe financial woes. Though it has an annual production capacity of 7.3 million tonnes of steel, the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant reported significant losses— Rs 4,848.86 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 2,858.74 crore in 2022-23.

After Modi’s victory as third-term with TDP and Janasena’s support, Union Steel Minister Kumaraswamy visited the plant, and stakeholders, including MP GVL Narasimha Rao and workers’ union leaders. It is ascertained that Rs 18,000 crore financial aid is needed to stabilize the steel plant’s operations. In response, the Steel Ministry provided emergency assistance of Rs 500 crore towards GST dues and Rs 1,150 crore for raw material procurement in two installments under the Emergency Advance Fund.

After many deliberations and the CCEA approval, today, the Centre announced Rs 11,440 crore revival package which is expected to bring the beleaguered Vizag Steel Plant back on track. Let’s hope for the best. This is certainly a big victory for the AP government-led by Chandrababu Naidu. That is the power of 21 MP seats. AP is now reaping its benefits by supporting to the BJP government at the Centre.