Hyderabad: Japan’s SoftBank Corp, which pledged to invest at least $20 billion in solar energy projects in India, on Tuesday said it will collaborate with the Andhra Pradesh government in the renewable energy sector.

SoftBank chairman and chief executive Masayoshi Son said the company will work to make Andhra Pradesh a model state in the country in solar and wind hybrid power projects, a state government statement said.

Son gave these assurances at a meeting with chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Hyderabad, whom he met along with Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and SoftBank’s president Nikesh Arora. The chief minister had met Son during a visit to Japan in November last year.

“These projects will not only boost the economy but also provide employment to people. The reason SoftBank is focussing on renewable energy is because we believe we need to be responsible for our future generations without relying completely on non-renewable energy," Son said in the statement.

SoftBank on Monday said it is partnering with Bharti Enterprises and Foxconn to set up a clean energy venture SBS Cleantech Ltd. to invest in and develop at least 20 gigawatt of solar energy in the country. SoftBank will retain majority stake in the joint venture.

The federal government aims to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix and has set a target to generate 100 gigawatt of solar energy and 60 gigawatt of wind energy by 2022.

Pitching the state as a manufacturing hub, Naidu asked Son to explore collaboration in electronics manufacturing space in the state. “On the East Coast, Andhra Pradesh has an advantage of serving and exporting goods to south eastern markets like Malaysia, Singapore, China, etc.," Naidu said in the statement.

Naidu has been looking for investment to transform Andhra Pradesh, which has the longest coastline in the eastern part of the country, into a logistics hub for Southeast Asia.

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