After the Andhra Pradesh State Investment Promotion Board (APSIPB) cleared the proposal for the setting up of the New Energy Park at Pudimadaka in Anakapalli district at an estimated cost of ₹1.1 lakh crore by the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC), the company representatives are gearing up to present a fresh report on the project during the Global Investors’ Summit (GIS) to be organised in Visakhapatnam on March 3 and 4.
The Industries Department has also sent a formal invitation to the NTPC’s corporate office in New Delhi to participate in the GIS for further discussions on the mega energy project.
After receiving the invitation, NTPC officials will be participating in the GIS, which will be the State government’s first such meet as part of its efforts to promote Andhra Pradesh as the India’s gateway to South East Asia by 2050.
Confirming this to The Hindu, an NTPC official source said, “Yes, our NTPC Delhi officials have received an invitation from the A.P. government regarding participation in the GIS in Visakhapatnam in March. We are preparing to participate in the meet.”
Earlier proposal
In 2014, the then government had allotted 1,200 acres of land at Pudimadaka for setting up a 4,000-MW new thermal power plant.
In March 2018, the Central government had taken a decision to reduce coal imports as domestic reserves declined and concerns were raised by the Ministry of Defence.
So, the coal-based thermal power project was considered to be not viable.
In June 2018, the NTPC had decided not to go ahead with the thermal plant as proposed earlier.
In September 2022, a global energy company from Australia had visited the Pudimadaka site of NTPC Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station here to explore the possibility of setting up a hydrogen eco-system park. But no progress has been made on the project so far.
Employment potential
Later, following a request from the NTPC to the YSRCP government, the APSIB recently cleared the decks for the project.
As per a preliminary plan, the NPTC is expected to spend ₹1.1 lakh crore in two phases to set up the New Energy Park to produce energy from green hydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol. Each phase will cost around ₹55,000 crore. The project will be completed by 2027 and 2032 respectively, with the first phase and second phases providing employment opportunities to 30,000 to 31,000 eligible candidates if everything goes according to the plan.
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