Vijayawada: The third meeting of the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) on Thursday approved 15 investment projects worth Rs 44,776 crore, which will create 19,580 jobs. The new projects include a 1,500 MW facility and an 800 MW project by Navayuga Engineering at Gujjili in Alluri Sitarama Raju district and Chittamvalasa, respectively.

Moreover, the foundation for big ticket projects such as the Rs 1.3 lakh crore ArcelorMittal steel plant and Rs 96,000 crore BPCL project is ex-pected in three months.

According to officials, Navayuga Engineering will invest Rs 14,328 crore and create 3,450 jobs. The Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL) will invest Rs 10,300 crore on a pumped storage project at Kommuru in Annamayya district, providing employment to 3,000 people.

Similarly, the Anantapur Renewable Pvt Ltd will invest Rs 972 crore to set up a 178 MW wind power project at Anantapur, which will generate em-ployment for 225 people. Other projects include a 201 MW wind energy project by Ecoren Energy India at Sri Satyasai and Anantapur districts at an investment of Rs 1,651 crore and a 400 MW solar power plant by Tata Power at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore at Anantapur, among others.

With the latest set of approvals, the SIPB has greenlighted investments worth Rs 3 lakh crore in three meetings in seven months.

Chairing the SIPB meeting, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the officials to clear the necessary permits to realise these projects at the earliest.

The Chief Minister instructed the officials to track investments closely to ensure that projects are implemented quickly. He directed the officials to ensure the progress of every project with an investment of over Rs 10 crore is tracked. The progress of projects approved in the previous SIPB meetings was also discussed in the meeting. He further instructed that there should be no obstacles at the district level in giving necessary per-missions.

Naidu asked the officials to engage with companies like DP World from Dubai and AP Muller Marks from Denmark, who had shown interest in investing in the state during his Davos visit. He emphasised using every opportunity to secure investments for the state, including focusing on the tourism sector to achieve 20% growth in this area.