Srinagar, Feb 18: In a major boost to private sector in Kashmir, India’s leading integrated steel company JSW Friday laid the foundation stone of its plant in Pulwama and 95 percent of locals will be recruited in the plant, officials said.
Announcing the start of private investment in Valley, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW group Sajjan Jindal Friday laid the foundation stone of a new steel processing unit in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a tweet, Jindal said, “Proud to announce that we have laid the foundation stone for our New Steel Processing unit in Pulwama – the heart of Kashmir! “Contributing to the growth of the beautiful state Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The JSW has become the first group to invest and start work. The Rs 150 crore steel plant is being set up at 70 kanals of land (8.75 acres) acquired by JSW Steel Limited in the Lassipora industrial area of Pulwama.
A senior company official at Pulwama told Rising Kashmir that foundation stone was laid on 15th February and work has been formally started on the project. We have completed boundary wall and now civil work has been started, he said.
“The manufacturing plant with a capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes per annum will also house special lines to produce “Steel Sandwich Panels” and ‘Steel Doors” for the local market in J&K,” he said.
The official said more than 90 percent of people of Jammu and Kashmir would be employed in the plant. Rest will be outsourced from other parts of country, he said.
“The plant will be primarily providing tin plate coils to local dealers for finishing of Colour Courted Sheets that has a good market in Kashmir,” he said.
The official also said earlier Valley-based dealers have to buy coils from Mumbai, Karnataka, Ludhiana, and other places. Now they can purchase tin plate coils from Pulwama, he said.
Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing the biggest industrial revolution in the history of UT as private investment proposals worth Rs 66,000 crore have been received within a period of around one year as well as 1,455 industrial units have also started their operations.
On 26 January, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said private investment proposals of Rs. 66,000 crore have been received within a period of around one year, during which 1455 industrial units started their operations.
“This is, by far, the biggest industrial campaign in the history of Jammu and Kashmir in a year,” he said.
