On Day 1 of Vibrant Gujarat Summit, investments of more than $62 billion (Rs 5 lakh crore) have been promised, top business leaders praised Modi’s vision and for creating an institutionalized framework that has made this into a global event.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries said that his company has poured in more than $150 billion (Rs 12 lakh crore) in creating world-class assets and capacities across India in the last 10 years. Out of this $150 billion at least a third has been invested in Gujarat alone.
In the second half of the year, in Jamnagar, the group is planning to commission the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex, said Ambani. The group has also announced India’s first carbon fibre facility at Hazira in Gujarat, which, when completed will have a capacity of 20,000 million tonnes per annum. Ambani said that RIL and Reliance Foundation will partner with others in Gujarat to improve education, sports, and skills infrastructure, in view of India’s announcement of a bid for the 2036 Olympics. It is widely expected that Ahmedabad will pitch for this.
Adani Chief, Gautam Adani said that the group will invest more than Rs 2 lakh crore in Gujarat thereby creating over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs. Adani is setting up the world’s largest green energy park in Khavda, Kutch, generating 30 GW of renewable energy over 725 square kilometres, and the facility is even visible from space, Adani added.
Both Ambani and Adani also paid tribute to Modi’s vision. “I have been one of the fortunate few to have participated in every single edition of Vibrant Gujarat. I have come from the City of the Gateway of India to the Gateway of Modern India’s Growth - Gujarat. I am a proud Gujarati. When foreigners think of New India, they think of a New Gujarat. How did this transformation happen? Because of one leader. Our beloved leader who has emerged as the greatest global leader of our times. And he is Shri Narendrabhai Modi, the most successful Prime Minister in India’s history,” Ambani said.
“It has all your hallmark signatures, merging grand ambition, massive scale, meticulous governance, and flawless execution,” Adani added, referring to the Prime Minister. “It ignited a nationwide movement as all our states marched forward – competing – and – cooperating – to fundamentally remodel India’s industrial landscape. The statistics of the past decade are remarkable. Since 2014, India’s GDP has grown by 185%, and per capita income by a stunning 165%. This achievement is unparalleled, especially considering this decade’s geopolitical conflicts and pandemic challenges.”
Toshihiro Suzuki, President of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan has announced a manufacturing plant in Gujarat which will have a capacity to roll out 1 million vehicles and expansion of an existing facility near Sanand from 7.5 lakh cars to 1 million vehicles a year. For this, the company will invest about Rs 38,200 crore in the two projects.
“In the past 10 years, under the strong leadership and consistent support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for manufacturing industries, the Indian automobiles sector has been expanding steadily. As a result, India has become the third largest automobile market in the world,” said Suzuki in his address at the event.
Conceptualized in 2003 as the Vibrant Gujarat Summit, under then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the conference has evolved into one of the country’s pre-eminent forums for business collaboration, knowledge sharing and strategic partnerships.
Chairman of DP World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem congratulated the Gujarat government for organising the Summit. He credited investment initiatives like Gatishakti which will help India and Gujarat realize their potential as economic powerhouses and detailed DP World’s plan to invest and develop state-of-the-art container terminals at Kandla, Gujarat with a capacity of two million containers.
Laxmi Mittal, the Chairman of ArcelorMittal said that his company will continue to pour in not only in steel but also in sectors like renewable energy and green hydrogen. He also said that he has signed two MoUs at the summit for their steel plant at Hazira and when the proposed expansion is completed in 2029, the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India plant will be one of the world’s largest single-location integrated steel plants with a total capacity of 24 million tonnes.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman Tata Sons Limited said that the steady and spectacular progress of Gujarat consistently over such a long time clearly demonstrates visionary leadership and the mindset of Prime Minister Modi. He underlined that economic development has also resulted in tremendous social development and Gujarat has clearly established itself as the gateway to the future. He also elaborated on the expansion plan of the group in Gujarat in the areas of EV vehicles, battery production, C295 defence aircraft and semiconductors. “Gujarat is one of the most important destinations for Tata Group and we will play a key role in its development journey”, he said.
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technologies, thanked the state and central governments for their support in helping establish a world-class memory assembly and test facility in Gujarat , adding that the first phase covering an area of 500,000 sq feet will be operational by early 2025 thereby creating 5,000 direct jobs and 15,000 additional community jobs over the coming years. “Combined investment by Micron and the government over both phases could reach up to $ 2.75 billion”, he said.
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