Hyderabad: Bharti Enterprises and Japan’s SoftBank have teamed up to invest in solar and wind power projects in a big way in Andhra Pradesh.

In a meeting with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son and Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal evinced interest to invest in projects related to renewable energy sources.

“We have formed a joint venture to invest about $20 billion in the entire country in the sector and we have identified Andhra Pradesh as one of the preferred states,” Mr Mittal said.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Son said that SoftBank will strive to make Andhra Pradesh a model state in the country in solar and wind hybrid projects. These projects will not only boost the economy but also provide employment to people, he added. This is Mr Son’s visit to meet the Chief Minister following their meeting in Japan last year.

“The transmission and distribution losses are now at 10.6 per cent. In another two to three years, the losses will be reduced to five to six per cent on par with international standards. We have surplus power and water. We’ve turned our state into a energy secure state from a power deficit one,” Mr Naidu added.

Inviting investments in manufacturing sector, the Chief Minister asked Mr Son to explore ways of collaboration in electronics hardware.