Centre is to invest Rs.1.2 lakh crore in AP to boost petro sector

AP Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) and the Skill Development Institute (SDI) at Vangali village in Sabbavaram mandal of Visakhapatnam district. Speaking on this occasion, the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that the centre is set to invest about Rs.1.2 lakh crore in the state over the next couple of years to make the state a leading petroleum hub. He said that the government was keen on setting up the proposed petro-chemical complex in Visakhapatnam-Kakinada- Rajahmundry corridor and set to invest Rs.35,000 crore for the complex. The centre will infuse another Rs. 21,000 crore to enhance the production capacity of the refinery of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited in Visakhapatnam from 8.5 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes. The total cost including setting up of the institutions sums up to Rs.62,000 crore. An additional investment of Rs. 60,000 crore will be invested in KG basin in Krishna and Godavari districts for exploration of natural gas. Chief Minister Chandra Babu said that about 12,000 students are already undergoing training at SDI at the temporary campus at Arilova in Visakhapatnam city. Every year there is about 10,000 students will be trained at SDI to make them Industry ready.