The Essel Group chairman also met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and former MP Amar Singh.
The Essel Group will invest a whopping Rs 8,500 crore in various projects in Uttar Pradesh. Essel Group chairman and media mogul Dr Subhash Chandra made the announcement after an hour-long meeting on Monday with UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav who underlined the group's role in the state's development.
The Essel Group chairman also met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and former MP Amar Singh.
"Last year, we had promised to invest Rs 10,000 crore in UP. We have already made investments of Rs 1,500 crore, and going by the speed with which the Akhilesh government takes decisions, I think the investment would be even more than (the balance) Rs 8,500 crore," said the chairman. The group had committed the Rs 10,000 crore investment at an investors' meet hosted by UP last year.
Official sources said the chairman had discussed a wide range of projects including road construction, solar power, power transmission, Gomti river front development, side development on the 302-kilometre Lucknow-Agra Expressway and also on other state highways.
"Many people ask me where would you get the money from. I tell them that in the 47 years of my business, neither have I ever got any bank loan restructured nor have we ever delayed in repayments. In fact, banks are eager to extend credit to us," the Essel Group chairman said.
Asked whether he would bring a project like the famous "Essel World" to UP, he said the group was planning even bigger projects for the state.
"Many people might not know, but Essel Infra is now a company of over Rs 1 lakh crore," he said.
Both Akhilesh Yadav and Mulayam Singh were all praise for the Essel Group chairman commending his commitment to development.
"Dr Subhash Chandra and his companies are already a part of virtually every household in UP, whether it's through their media network or other businesses," Akhilesh Yadav said. "We want the Essel Group to have an even bigger presence in UP," he said.
Mulayam Singh said, "He and his group will play an important role in the state's development."
Amar Singh said, "The Essel Group has already done a lot of work in solar power projects in Bundelkhand."
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