Assam Cabinet approves Rs 11,000 crore JK Lakshmi Cement investment, ADB-backed beel restoration project

The Assam Cabinet has approved a series of major proposals, including an Rs 11,000-crore investment by JK Lakshmi Cement Limited, an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded project for restoration of community beels and a new industrial subsidy framework, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on September 24.

Sarma said the ADB loan component of the beel restoration project will be Rs 637.504 crore, while the Assam government's share will be Rs 159.376 crore.

As part of the project, restoration and rehabilitation work will be undertaken for at least 102 derelict community beels across the state.

The Cabinet has also approved a rent-based or pro bono model for the construction of a state-of-the-art laboratory and ancillary infrastructure of the Spices Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, at Ulubari in Guwahati.

Under the arrangement, the Agriculture Department, in coordination with PWD (B), will construct the building according to the design and specifications provided by the Spices Board.

Rs 11,000 crore JK Lakshmi Cement investment

The Cabinet has approved the proposed Rs 11,000-crore investment by JK Lakshmi Cement Limited for setting up a clinker manufacturing unit and four associated cement grinding units in Assam.

According to Sarma, the investment is expected to generate around 2,000 direct jobs.

The Cabinet has also approved a State Capital Investment Subsidy for eligible manufacturing units in Assam that qualify under the substantive provisions of the Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme (UNNATI), 2024, but could not obtain registration under the scheme within the extended deadline of September 30, 2026.

The decisions were announced as part of the state government's latest Cabinet measures aimed at infrastructure development, industrial investment and support for manufacturing units.