Assam receives Rs 5.18 lakh cr investment proposals in biz summit: Himanta

Guwahati, Feb 28 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that the state received investment proposals worth Rs 5,18,295 crore, including the MoUs signed at the district level, in the recently concluded business summit.

The investment commitment received from both government and private sectors is 80 per cent of the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is projected at Rs 6.43 lakh crore till March this year, the chief minister said at a press conference here.

“We will begin analysing the proposals in the new financial year, and for the next six months, we will prepare the roadmap for implementation of the various proposals received,” Sarma said.

A detailed agreement will be signed after a proper study of the proposals to ascertain its implementation.

“It is not necessary that all MoUs will translate into investments and a successful strike rate of the implementation is usually 50 per cent but I am hoping for 80 per cent, which will make Assam one of the leading states of the country,” he said.

The Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit was held in the state on February 25 and 26.

Providing land and offering incentives are likely to be major challenges in the implementation of these projects but “we will try to mitigate these in the course of time”, Sarma said.

”Providing land to those desiring to invest in the state will be a major challenge as government land is limited and nobody will come here and buy land from private owners to set up their enterprises. The signing of the MoUs, however, is the beginning and we will find a way,” he said.

Another challenge will come from “offering incentives as we cannot compete with rich states”, Sarma said, adding, it is a fact that industrial development cannot take place without proper incentives and infrastructure ”but we will charter the course”.

The Centre, however, has already offered various incentives to the industry sector, and it is already in place which ”we will take advantage of”, he added.

Another area of concern is the affordability of power as ”power by itself is not a problem as we can buy it from the power grid but the tariff has to be within our budget. If we have the money, we can buy it”, he said.

”Land, incentives and creating a skilled workforce are a few challenges that we foresee and we plan to categorise the proposals so that we can progress systematically. We may even have to refuse many high-value MoUs ”, Sarma said.

The chief minister said that the priority of the state government will be to build up a workforce and take up the MoUs for education and skill development for implementation.

He said that there was an overwhelming response to the summit primarily due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to industrialists to invest in the state.

”Usually, the prime minister does not pitch for a particular state but he has done for Assam due to his involvement in making it an industrial hub. This has instilled confidence in both industrialists and the people of Assam,” Sarma said.

The prime minister and the Centre’s commitment to Assam with the development of infrastructure over the last 10 years had created the environment for industrialists and entrepreneurs to come to the northeastern state, he added.

Another game-changer for the summit was the setting up of the Rs 27,000-crore Tata semiconductor assembly plant at Jagiroad, which sent a ”shockwave across the country and many questioned why Assam. This led to many industries to come on their own and express their intention to set up industries here”, he said.

Besides the strategic geographical location along with the message that the “state is now stable, secure and peaceful” has also contributed largely to the overwhelming response to the summit with many industrialists coming on their own, Sarma said.

Many youths of the state have been ‘ambassadors for the state’ and played a pivotal role in taking this message of peace and tranquillity prevailing in the state along with its limitless opportunities to the rest of the country and abroad, the chief minister said.

He also said that it was his aim to bring back those youth who left their homes and their aged parents in search of employment and are working in subhuman conditions in some parts of the country.

The chief minister said that almost all sectors have received investment proposals but the focus areas include manufacturing, hydrocarbons, green energy, medical, education and hospitality.

The international presence at the summit was also encouraging with high-level business delegations from nine partner countries along with delegates from Europe, Asia, Africa and both North and South America.

”We could not hold a road show in the US and harness its potential as the country was going through the Presidential transition. We, however, plan to hold a roadshow there in 2027, subject to the Centre’s permission,” Sarma said.

The European Union, World Bank and Asian Development Bank have also evinced keen interest in Assam and several projects have been discussed for implementation with their help.

”If we work consistently for the next four years, the investments will be successful and by the time, the next Advantage Assam is held, Assam will be a leading state,” Sarma claimed.