Adani to Invest $24 Billion in India’s Gujarat Over Next 5 Years

(Bloomberg) --

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani plans to invest 2 trillion rupees ($24 billion) over the next five years into his home state of Gujarat, adding to a barrage of multi-billion pledges being made at a flagship investment summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi months ahead of national elections.

The tycoon, who spent much of last year fending off damaging charges of corporate fraud following a short-seller attack, said Wednesday that much of the investment would be made in green energy in the western Indian state. This would also create 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in Gujarat, where Modi used to be the Chief Minister before winning the top elected office in the country.

Adani Group is in the midst of constructing the “world’s largest green energy park” generating 30 gigawatt in the Kutch district, he said at the Vibrant Gujarat event. The ports-to-power conglomerate is also creating a renewable energy ecosystem including solar panels, wind turbines, hydrogen electrolysers and green ammonia, Adani added.

Adani said at the summit that his conglomerate’s investments had “already surpassed” 500 billion rupees in the state out of the 550 billion rupees it had promised by 2025. 

Separately at the same conference, Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire-chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd., said that his conglomerate will also invest significantly in the state. 

Reliance is setting up a carbon fiber facility in Hazira and a green energy giga complex on 5,000 acres in Jamnagar, which will be commissioned in the second half of 2024, Ambani said.

Adani and Ambani, Asia’s two richest people, are both looking to transform their empires that originated from fossil fuel-led businesses and pivot them toward renewable energy. 

The summit this week, which has seen attendance by executives from companies ranging from Alphabet Inc., Tata Sons Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp., is one of Modi’s final bids to bring in headline-grabbing investments before a countrywide ballot expected to be held between April and May. A stellar show in recent state elections has boosted Modi’s bid to secure a third term in office.

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