14,000 projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore ready for execution: UP minister

Noida, Feb 18 (PTI) Around 14,000 projects with an estimated investment size of Rs 10 lakh crore are ready for implementation during the Ground Breaking Ceremony in Lucknow on Monday, Uttar Pradesh Industrial and Infrastructure Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta said.

These projects will help create 33.50 lakh employment opportunities, the cabinet minister told PTI, adding that a major part of the investment is coming into sectors like manufacturing, renewable energy, information technology, housing and real estate.

The investments are spread across regions, with Paschimanchal (west) getting the maximum (52 per cent) followed by Poorvanchal (east) (29 per cent), Madhyanchal (central) (14 per cent) and Bundelkhand (5 per cent), he said.

The Ground Breaking Ceremony (GBC) will be held on Monday in the state capital and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to participate in the inaugural function.

"As many as 14,000 projects with an estimated investment size of approximately Rs 10 lakh crore are ready for implementation. These projects will help create 33.50 lakh employment opportunities," Gupta told PTI.

"Of the Rs 10 lakh crore, maximum investments are coming up in sunrise sectors like manufacturing (21 per cent), renewable energy (13 per cent), IT and ITeS (9 per cent), food processing (6 per cent), housing & real estate (6 per cent), hospitality and entertainment (3 per cent), education (3 per cent) etc," he said.

On investments in Bundelkhand, known for being less developed and parched, Gupta said the government is very serious about changing the face of the region and promoting industrialisation across its seven districts of Jhansi, Banda, Lalitpur, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Mahoba and Chitrakoot.

"As a result, it has notified the Bundelkhand Expressway Industrial Development Authority (BIDA), which is being developed over 14,000 hectares. It will be the biggest industrial development authority in the state. So far, Noida was the biggest industrial development authority, spread over 13,000 hectares but BIDA will be spread over 14,000 hectares," he said.

In the first phase, an industrial city will be developed by acquiring 35,000 acres of land from 33 revenue villages in Jhansi. The Authority, which is the first such industrial development project in 47 years after Noida, is expected to spur industrialisation in the region, he said.

"While interacting with investors, we are underscoring the importance of key sectoral opportunities in UP, especially Bundelkhand. The government is planning dedicated sectoral parks and some of the focus sectors are defence and aerospace, warehousing & logistics, agro & food processing, aviation, leather, pharma & chem. Major land banks are being created, especially in Bundelkhand," Gupta said.

On the growth of the real estate sector, Gupta said the UP government aims to provide affordable housing to different sections of the society, control haphazard development in the peripheral areas of cities and improve the quality of urban life.

Considering the new challenges of urbanisation in UP, the Yogi Adityanath government has announced various incentives to private developers investing in the state under the New Township Policy 2023, he said.

"Under this policy, the developers will receive the most significant relief in the form of a reduction in the conversion fee for land use. For townships developed in areas with a population of more than five lakhs and less than 10 lakhs, there will be a 25 per cent rebate in the conversion fee, while for areas with a population of fewer than five lakhs, the reduction could go up to 50 per cent. Furthermore, private developers will be eligible for township development," he added.

Asked about the renewable energy sector, he said UP has witnessed notable advancements in the realm of RE over the past seven years during which it has successfully augmented its capacity to a cumulative 4,300 MW, with 2,100 MW harnessed from solar energy and 2,200 MW from bioenergy.

"To amplify these efforts, the government introduced the UP Solar Energy Policy 2022 and Bioenergy Policy 2022, presenting advantageous opportunities for both investors and the general public in the state. With an unwavering commitment to fostering sustainable development, the Government of Uttar Pradesh envisions a shift towards clean energy," Gupta said.

"As part of the broader goal to build a USD 1 trillion economy, the government, in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), the designated nodal agency for renewable energy initiatives, actively promotes the adoption of diverse renewable energy sources," he said.

In the realm of renewable energy generation, the government is also going strong on Pumped Storage Power (PSP) generation, which will propel UP towards achieving the status of a "power surplus state", he said.

The state government has given nod to eight PSP projects, with six located in Sonbhadra and two in Mirzapur and Chandauli districts. The eight projects will have a collective capacity of 13,250 megawatts, he added. PTI