Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, called for a fresh, aggressive strategy Saturday to turn the Visakha economic region—stretching from Srikakulam in the north to Konaseema in the south—into a major growth hub for the state.
Naidu told senior officials at the Secretariat to draft an action plan that will boost investment in the 12‑district corridor. He insisted new policies are needed to draw capital, such as a $100‑115 billion pot that includes $15 billion earmarked by the central government and $85 billion from private investors.
“Ports are the lifeline,” Naidu said. He stressed upgrading cargo handling at Mulapet in Srikakulam and Kakinada in East Godavari so the region can serve as a gateway for Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. He also urged the state to build an East‑West coastal corridor, linking all the coastal towns and expanding freight capacity.
The plan will focus on green‑energy projects and technology as Visakhapatnam is slated to become an international IT center, with Google opening a New Gen AI data hub there. Health care and medical tourism were singled out as growth sectors, and the CM emphasized the need to meet a rising demand for housing.
Officials suggest creating a Visakha Economic Region Authority to oversee the development and coordinate stakeholders.
In related news, the state government announced that the Chartered Institute of Industry (CII) Partnership Summit will take place in Visakhapatnam on November 14‑15. The theme, “Technology, trust and trade: navigating the new geoeconomic order,” promises to attract 410 memoranda of understanding worth about ₹9.8 lakh crore. CM Naidu will be joined by central ministers Nirmala Sitharaman (finance), Piyush Goyal (commerce and industry) and Ashwini Vaishnaw (railways, electronics and IT) to address the summit.
Source: ianslive
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