GANDHINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Gujarat on December 15 to lay the foundation stones of two projects in Kutch district — a mega renewable energy park and a desalination plant — chief minister Vijay Rupani said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters at a function, Rupani said the hybrid renewable energy park, with both solar panels and windmills, will be the “world’s biggest” with power generation capacity of 30,000MW.
“This project is coming up in the desert of Kutch. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Kutch on December 15 to perform the ground-breaking ceremony of this park,” he said.
In September, the state cabinet cleared the long pending proposal for the biggest renewable energy (solar and wind) park at Kutch, spread over 60,000 hectares. Other formalities for setting up the park are over and agencies can also start ground work in the coming days after the foundation stone is laid by PM Modi.
The hybrid renewable energy park is expected to attract investments of around Rs.1.35 lakh crore in the next two years. The PMO has set a deadline of 2022 for completion of the project. PM reviews the Kutch hybrid renewable power through his monthly PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) system for assessment of nationally important projects.
“On the same day, the PM will also perform the ground-breaking ceremony of a desalination plant at Mandvi in Kutch. This plant will provide fresh water for farming, industries and drinking,” Rupani added.
Modi last visited Gujarat on November 28, when he spent around an hour at drug maker Zydus Cadila’s Biotech Park to assess work on its Covid-19 vaccine. He had also visited the state in October.