- Tuesday, March 04, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Friday (3) announced plans for establishing a 10-gigawatt (GW) solar plant in the southwestern state of Andhra Pradesh as his oil-to-telecom conglomerate bets big on renewable sources that can be converted into carbon-free green hydrogen.
Ambani, who was present at the two-day Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit which kicked off in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam the same day, said his group was investing Rs 40,000 crore (£4 billion) for rolling out ultra-high speed 5G telephony network in the state.
“This morning, I am happy to announce that we will continue our investments and we will invest in 10 gigawatt of renewable solar energy in the state of Andhra Pradesh,” the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd said but did not divulge investment details.
In 2021, Reliance had revealed plans to create by 2030 capacity to generate at least 100 GW of electricity from renewable sources, which can be converted into carbon-free green hydrogen. It is also investing in setting up giga-factories to manufacture components for the green energy value chain.
Ambani said his company has invested more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore in developing oil and gas discoveries it made off the Andhra coast and in supporting gas pipeline infrastructure to transport the fuel to consumers.
Gas from Reliance’s KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal contributes nearly 30 per cent of of all gas production in the country, he said.
“This is just an example of how important Andhra is to the India story. And how deeply Reliance is invested in the Andhra story.”
Reliance Jio, the group’s telecom arm, is rolling out what it called a ‘True 5G’ network.
“We are creating the largest and the best digital network footprint in the state by investing over Rs 40,000 crore. Our 4G network covers 98 per cent of Andhra Pradesh’s population, including those living in the remotest corners of the state.
“The rollout of Jio’s True 5G will be completed before the end of 2023 throughout India, including your state of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
5G will trigger a new wave of digital revolution, creating large-scale business and employment opportunities.
Similarly, its retail arm has partnered with more than 120,000 lakh kirana (grocery) merchants across 6,000 villages of Andhra Pradesh.
“Reliance Retail will source significantly more agri and agro-based products and manufactured goods from Andhra Pradesh for sale all over India,” he said.
“I would like to assure you that Reliance will continue to be an unflinching partner to the people and the Government of Andhra Pradesh in your state’s all-around accelerated progress,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
