Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said his dream is to make Gujarat the world’s biggest hub for production of “the fuel of the future” green hydrogen and the state’s coastline will become a preferred destination for the sector which is expected to attract an investment of Rs 8 to 10 lakh crore.
He also informed that Vedanta-Foxconn’s mega semiconductor plant, announced in September, is coming up in the Dholera Special Investment Region in Ahmedabad district with an investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The PM was addressing a poll rally — his fourth of the day — in Bhavnagar in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates ahead of the next month’s Assembly polls in Gujarat. Voting in Bhavnagar district will take place on December 1 in the first phase.
“I want to make Gujarat the biggest hub of green hydrogen (in the world). A new eco-system for that sector will come up on Gujarat’s coastline, be it in Kutch or Bhavnagar or in Junagadh. Green hydrogen is the fuel of the future. Cars will run on that fuel in the future. The entire world will experience a total transformation,” said Modi.
Thrust on the green hydrogen segment will also create large-scale jobs, he stated. “Both the state government and the Centre have taken initiatives to attract investment in Gujarat and on its coastline for that sector from across the world. We are expecting an investment of Rs 8 to 10 lakh crore for that sector. It will create lakhs of new employment opportunities,” he said.
He informed the gathering that a mega semiconductor manufacturing facility of Vedanta and Foxconn is coming up in the Dholera Special Investment Region.
In September, a joint venture of Indian conglomerate Vedanta and Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gujarat government to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing unit in the state with an investment of Rs 1,54,000 crore.
At that time, the joint venture company had not disclosed the exact location of the facility. Voting to elect a new 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases — December 1 (89 seats) and 5 (93 seats) — and ballots will be counted on December 8. A total of 1,621 candidates are in the fray for the 182 seats.
(Source: PTI)
