Assam Projects Worth Rs 60,000 Crore Underway: CM

Guwahati, May 18 (PTI) Implementation of projects worth over Rs 60,000 crore, out of investment proposals for Rs 5.18 lakh crore received during a business summit in February, has already commenced, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.

The state government was expecting a total investment in projects worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore within the first year of the summit, he said.

Sarma was speaking at an MoU-signing ceremony of 20 projects worth Rs 22,900 crore here, proposals for which were received during the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit.

He said several projects in the infrastructure space were being implemented, with focus also on innovation and sectors such as agriculture, horticulture and dairy, which are employment-centric.

“We had received proposals for Rs 5.18 lakh crore… during the summit. We had been careful to keep aside proposals which didn't seem serious so that there was no big gap between the monetary amount of proposals received during the summit and the ones actually implemented,” Sarma said.

He said that in the infrastructure sector, three projects worth Rs 30,000 crore – Guwahati ring road, Narengi-Kuruwa bridge over Brahmaputra and Guwahati-Silchar express highway – which were announced during the summit, have been approved.

Regarding the “investment sector”, he said binding MoUs were being signed during the ceremony with committed proposals worth Rs 22,900 crore for projects in the executionary stage.

The signed MoUs include key projects in waste management, Tata Gateway, solar power production and ethanol production.

Taking into account the Rs 10,000-crore new brownfield plant in Namrup, a total of over Rs 60,000 crore worth projects were being realised, the chief minister said.

“As per our calculation, we are expecting total investment in projects worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore within the first year of the summit,” he added.

Sarma said another MoU-signing ceremony will be held in September or October when agreements with some “major players” will be exchanged, adding that he was hopeful some of the projects for which the final pacts have already been inked will be inaugurated by year-end.

The CM also emphasised on small industries, agriculture, horticulture, veterinary, dairy and allied sectors for development of the state as these are more employment-intensive.

He thanked Amul for coming forward to set up its first milk processing unit in Assam, while also urging the cooperative to plan a second such project in the state.

Claiming of a highly-investment friendly atmosphere in the state compared to ones which already have big industries, Sarma said, “We are not facing problems aplenty. So, when someone comes to invest, we treat them as a state guest.

“Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu… can pick and choose. We don't have that privilege yet. After 20 years perhaps, we will also have that luxury,” he said.

Sarma also underlined the importance of innovation and mixing indigenous efforts with existing knowledge for more profitable business ventures.

“We are creating land bank and other infrastructure. The commitments made during Advantage Assam are being reviewed constantly,” he added.