Visakhapatnam, (IANS) : Kakinada SEZ Ltd (KSEZ), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd (GIL), has signed a series of MoUs worth Rs 47,000 crore with firms interested in setting up manufacturing units in Kakinada SEZ in Andhra Pradesh.

The agreements were inked during the CII Partnership Summit which ended here on Saturday, GMR said in a statement on Monday.

GMR Group is developing a world-class Industrial Zone – Kakinada SEZ, spread over 8,500 acres and an all-weather, multi-cargo, deep water port, with an estimated phase 1 capacity of 16 million tonnes.

Oil and gas public sector majors are coming together to set up a petrochemical complex with a proposed investment of Rs 40,000 crore in 2,000 acres of GMR’s Kakinada SEZ.

The MoU for this investment was signed among the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and the Andhra Pradesh government.

MoUs were also signed by KSEZ with five other companies including Oil Country Tubular, Kamineni Steel & Power, United Seamless Tubular, Deepak Phenolics and DCM Shriram for setting up manufacturing facilities with a total investment of Rs 7,000 crore over 550 acres.

These MoUs would be followed up with technical and commercial discussions for lease of land in Kakinada SEZ to the above mentioned firms over the following months, the statement said.

Kakinada is often referred to as the “Houston of India” owing to the existence of Hydro-Carbon reserves and the oil and infrastructure.

“GMR group’s Kakinada SEZ is all set to transform the industrial landscape of the Godavari districts bringing in significant investments and employment,” said G.M. Rao, Group Chairman, GMR Group.

Kakinada SEZ, which is centred in the Kakinada node of the Visakhapatnam – Chennai Industrial Corridor, being developed by Asian Development Bank, and will house various industries including petrochemicals, food & agro processing, discrete manufacturing, electronics, toys, sports goods & apparel.

The SEZ is already operational and has units which employ nearly 1,000 people from the neighbouring villages, predominantly women.