STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Minister of Commerce and Industry Chandra Mohan Patowary has claimed an investment of Rs 53,464 crore in the State during the post-‘Advantage Assam’ mission phase. Giving details, Patowary said the major portion of Rs 42,000 crore was in the Oil and Petroleum sector; Rs 8,871 crore in the Industries and Commerce sector; and Rs 3,312 crore in other sectors including Health, Handloom and Power. Altogether 207 MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding) of approximately Rs 79,000 crore were reportedly signed during the mission carried out in the city in February 2018.
Interestingly enough, the maximum number of projects in the Oil and Petroleum sector were already in the pipeline much before ‘Advantage Assam’, informed sources. However, the Industries Minister has claimed these investments to be in the follow-up stage of the ‘Advantage Assam’ mission.
Claiming a huge success of ‘Advantage Assam’, Patowary on Friday told the media that more investments of Rs 3,887 crore are in the pipeline. He added that once these projects commence, the industrial scenario in the State would undergo a fast change.
On providing the GI (Geographical Indication) tag to Assam tea, Patowary said that “talks are on with the Central government.” The tag will ensure that Assam tea maintains its typical identity. Besides, the tag would further ensure that the State’s tea would not be mixed with teas from other States. Such mixing harms the quality of the Assam tea, he pointed out.
Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary also stated that Pepsi will set up a unit investing Rs 200 crore at Rampur in Kamrup district.
Moreover, three separate summits with Bangladesh, Japan, and South Korea will be convened in the city between October and November this year.
On the stalled Jagiroad and Cachar paper mills of HPCL (Hindustan Paper Corporation Limited), Patowary clarified that the Government of India had almost finalized a package of Rs 1,900 crore revival package, adding that just four days before its finalization, a contractor of the Jagiroad Paper Mill had filed a case in the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal). As a result, the package got stalled. “I feel it was a political conspiracy to hinder the revival process of the paper mills,” said Patowary; adding that “However, we’re trying to revive the package.”