AM/NS India, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, has received environmental clearance and 2,200 acres of land to establish India’s largest greenfield steel plant in Anakapalli district, Andhra Pradesh.
The project’s first phase involves setting up an 8.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) blast furnace facility with an investment of Rs 80,000 crore. Construction is expected to begin within this calendar year. In the second phase, capacity will be expanded to 24 MTPA with a total investment exceeding ?1.5 lakh crore.
The company will source iron ore from the Bailadila mines in Chhattisgarh through a new slurry pipeline running parallel to an existing one, reducing pollution from truck transport.
The Andhra Pradesh government expedited approvals — from land identification to environmental clearance — in just 14 months, a process that typically takes up to four years. Officials confirmed the site has no ecological or tribal settlement challenges.