Good News, AP Gets Massive Investment Plan from Reliance

In what can be a significant boost to AP’s investments, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has proposed a massive investment of around Rs 2.73 lakh crore over 30 years to develop India’s first integrated Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) complex in Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh.

The project will be developed at the Chintalapudi and Recherla coal blocks in coastal Andhra Pradesh. The investment will depend on the results of exploration and the commercial viability of the project.RIL has secured the two coal blocks through an e-auction conducted by the Ministry of Coal.
Mukesh Ambani-led RIL has planned the project in three stages, starting with exploration and pilot work and moving towards large-scale production. The exploration and pilot phase is expected to begin in the current financial year itself.

The proposed project is also expected to create significant employment in the region. RIL estimates that the project could create around 3,000 to 5,000 direct jobs at the steady-state operational stage. It could also generate around 20,000 to 35,000 indirect and induced livelihoods across the regional supply chain.The project could therefore have a major economic impact on Eluru and surrounding areas if it moves ahead as planned.

Meanwhile, the project is in line with the objectives of the National Coal Gasification Mission, which aims to achieve 100 million tonnes of coal gasification capacity by 2030.

If successfully implemented, RIL’s proposed project could become a major industrial and energy investment in Andhra Pradesh and one of the country’s largest attempts to use underground coal gasification at an integrated scale.