AP Government's Initiatives Attracting Investors

Vijayawada: With a series of domain-specific policies in place after the TDP-led NDA coalition formed the government in Andhra Pradesh, several mega investments are set to materialise in the near future.

The confidence-building measures initiated since N Chandrababu Naidu took over as the Chief Minister about six months ago, there seems to be a windfall of investments mainly in and around Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Krishnapatnam, Tirupati and few other places.

The Industrial Development Policy 4.0 (2024-29) envisaged an investment of Rs30 lakh crore and operationalisation of Rs5 lakh crore worth projects during the five-year period with a 16 per cent growth rate. The Swarnandhra Vision-2047 paints a rosy picture regarding the emerging industrial landscape with an ambitious target of transforming the State into a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047.

Being the largest city with a robust industrial infrastructure, Visakhapatnaman has remained the first preference for any investor. The city has good road and air connectivity with the existence of a government-owned major port and a minor port in the private sector.

The year is ending with a happy note after BPCL board cleared the proposal for pre-feasibility studies to set up a Greenfield refinery and petrochemical complex most likely in Nellore district. The project is expected to bring an investment from Rs.50,000 crore to Rs1 lakh crore, AP industries Minister TG Bharath.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has signed MoU with a local IT company to take it's building at Rushikonda on lease to launch its first phase of operation with a 2,000-seat in Visakhapatnam.The company is firm on scale up to 10,000 seater in phases. Infosys, which made a humble beginning in the city is also planning to expand further. "All these developments with a proactive IT and GCC policy will bring the required change to make Visakhapatnam into a prominent hub for IT," Sreedhar Kosaraju, convener of AP Digital Technology Industry Leadership Forum, said.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has already announced an investment of Rs65,000 crore in next five years in establishing 500 compressed biogas plants across the State creating jobs for an estimated 2.50 lakh. Another big development in attracting investment is the announcement by ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India). The joint venture has proposed to invest Rs.1.40 lakh crore, touted to be the single largest investment till date anywhere in India. The project proponent has promised a site required for the investment near Nakkapalli along with a captive port. No industry in AP has been given any captive port for development so far.

Though Anrak Aluminium Ltd (AAL) was permitted to develop a captive port for its alumina refinery near Makavarapalem in the past, it was withdrawn following public outcry and fears over ocean pollution. IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh said they are keen on developing domain-specific investments across all the regions by ensuring Speed of Doing Business. He told Bizz Buzz on the sidelines of a summit in Visakhapatnam that AP Economic Development Board has been revamped to promote Brand CBN referring to the Chief Minister and his father. And they are drawing up short and mid-term plans to make the State an attractive investment destination by bringing a sea-change in the existing ecosystem.