Agreements for investment commitments worth Rs 88,420 crore in Maharashtra have been signed so far at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos in Switzerland, the Chief Minister's Office said. Asserting that the faith of the industry and global investors in Maharashtra had been proven at Davos, Switzerland, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said that memoranda of understanding (MoU) for investments worth more than ₹45,000 crore had been signed on the first day itself of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting. Shinde whose six-month-old government has been facing flak from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition for reportedly ‘losing’ big-ticket projects like Vedanta-Foxconn to neighbouring Gujarat is currently in Davos to attend the annual meeting of WEF, the gathering of top political and business leaders which is being held from January 16 to 20.
Giving a break-up of the Rs 42,520-crore investments finalised on Tuesday, the statement said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US-based firm New Era Cleantech Solutions was signed to establish a coal gasification project worth Rs 20,000 crore with a capacity to generate 15,000 jobs in Chandrapur district. An agreement was inked with Britain's Varad Ferro Alloys to establish a steel project worth Rs 1,250 crore at Charmoshi in Gadchiroli district. Another MoU was inked with Israel's Rajuri Steels and Alloys to establish a Rs 600-crore steel plant in Chandrapur district in the Vidarbha region, the statement said on Tuesday. A mega auto project worth Rs 20,000 crore of Gogora Engineering and Badve Engineering will also come in Maharashtra, it said. An agreement was signed with Portugal's Alight Plast to establish a plastic automotive project worth Rs 400 crore in Pimpri town of Pune district, said the statement. Shinde was in Davos to seek investments in Maharashtra, where his government had faced flak after some big-ticket industrial projects moved to other states, notably Gujarat. The WEF is an international organisation for public-private cooperation. The forum engages foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.