#BoycottChina: Maha govt freezes 3 chinese projects worth Rs 5000 Cr

Mumbai, June 22: Following the central government advised the state governments not to sign any agreements with Chinese companies, the Maharashtra government on Monday took a major decision and froze three major agreements signed with Chinese companies on hold.

 

 

The deals were signed on 17th June at Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0 investor virtual meet which was attended by Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong. All three Chinese firms were to invest in Maharashtra’s Talegaon district. The three MoUs that have been put on hold are with Great Wall Motors (worth Rs 3,700 crore), PMI Electro Mobility Solutions (Rs 1,000 crore), and Hengli (Rs 250 crore). The proposed projects entail investments of around Rs 5,000 crore in the state.

 

In January this year, Great Wall Motors signed an agreement to acquire the Talegaon plant from US-based multinational General Motors. GWM planned to produce its electric vehicles and SUV models at the unit.

 

Making the development public, Maharashtra's Industry Minister Subhash Desai said that the decision was taken by the state government in consultation with the union government. "We have taken this decision in consultation with the Central government. These agreements were signed before the development on the Indo-China border and killing of 20 Indian soldiers," he said.

 

"Magnetic Maharashtra 2.0' was an attempt to revive the economy of the state post-COVID-19. 12 agreements were signed by the Maha Vikas Aghadi government which included companies from Singapore, South Korea, US besides several Indian companies. The state government signed agreements worth over Rs 16,000 crore with global companies. Maharashtra has re-opened more than 60,000 industries that will generate job for nearly 15 lakh people.

 

Some of the major MoUs include with companies like Exon Mobil (USA), United Phosphorus Ltd. (India), APG DC Infrastructure (Singapore), a joint venture with Foton China, Estes (South Korea), Ascendas (Singapore), Varun Beverages, Isambe logistics Enterprise (Singapore) and Rackbank (Singapore).

 

 

Earlier, Telecom Ministry also had asked BSNL, MTNL, and other subsidiaries to avoid Chinese equipment in upgradation. The Ministry also directed all concerned departments to purchase goods manufactured in India as their topmost priority as part of the Centre's push for "Aatmanirbhar Bharat".