Maharashtra-based JSW Energy has started building a 1.6GW coal power plant and industrial park in the Indian state of West Bengal, in part to capitalise on the global economic chaos Donald Trump is causing.
The state’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone on Monday in a ceremony attended by cricket legend Sourav Ganguly, Business Standard reports.
The $1.9bn project in Salboni is JSW’s largest greenfield investment to date, and follows a 25-year power purchase agreement with the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company.
JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal wants to attract Asian companies hurt by Trump’s tariff war on the world.
“After the US-China spat, many Korean and Japanese industries that are in China and export to the US, but cannot, are looking for a home for themselves. We are going to attract them; that is my main target,” he said.
The scheme was conceived about 20 years ago as part of an integrated steel and power complex. The first foundation stone was laid in 2008.
The steel plant did not go ahead, and the power element was delayed until this week.
Jindal said the Salboni project was a “dream” for JSW and would be the cornerstone of its expansion plans for eastern India, and would bolster the region’s industrial infrastructure and create more than 2,000 direct and indirect jobs.
JSW wants to build 20GW of installed capacity by 2030; it expects to hit 14GW this June.
It also has 16.3GWh of energy storage space projects, including a 12GW pumped hydro scheme. It is planning to have 40GWh of such capacity by 2030.
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