BS reported that in a bid to recoup its image as an investment destination, Andhra Pradesh government is lining up a number of MoUs on fresh investments to the tune of close to INR 300,000 crore, which are expected to be signed during the Partnership Summit scheduled from January 11-13 here.

While the Partnership Summit is a national event being organised by the Union Commerce Ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industry, the state government wants to make full use it as an effective platform to project AP as an investor-friendly state.

The image of the state had touched rock-bottom in the light of political uncertainty, particularly when the venue of the previous edition of the Partnership Summit was shifted to Chennai after the state government led by then chief minister Mr K Rosaiah expressed its inability to host the event.

Of the investment proposals, close to INR 80,000 crore is coming from new power projects. However, the officials are a bit concerned as the power sector is going through a difficult phase in terms of raising funds.

This apart, about INR 25,000 crore worth proposals have already been forwarded to the state level investment promotion board headed by the chief minister. These proposals would also be part of the proposed MoUs.

Investment proposals worth about INR 40,000 crore in the refinery sector, led by Kuwait-based Al Qebla Al Watya Inc, are also expected to be showcased during the three-day event. The Kuwaiti company had recently signed an MoU with the AP government for setting up a refinery project in Visakhapatnam with an initial 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity at an investment of USD 2 billion with a long term plan to scale up the capacity by three times.

Official said that “We are very upbeat on this refinery project. The company delegation is coming in a chartered flight from Kuwait to receive the land allotment letter from chief minister during the Partnership Summit.”

(Sourced from BS)