A.P. govt. tracking 760 projects, bunch of them to be grounded in April, says Nara Lokesh

The Andhra Pradesh government is tracking 760 projects, and several of them will be launched on a priority basis. April will see a bunch of launches, according to IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of ArcelorMittal/ Nippon Steel (AM/NS) green field integrated steel plant’s foundation stone-laying ceremony at Rajayyapeta in Anakapalli district, Mr. Lokesh said the AM/NS steel Plant and Google data centre are just the beginning.

“As the Chairman of the Group of Ministers (GoM) for creation of 20 lakh jobs, I am involved in this massive exercise. We will see many launches in April. In terms of investments, out ₹100 in India, Andhra Pradesh is getting over 25% of it. The State is proving 22 industrial and manufacturing clusters and three economic regions in Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati,” said Mr. Lokesh.

The GoM, constituted by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and chaired by Mr. Lokesh, is designed to attract and facilitate industrial investments and cluster-based industrial growth. 

As part of the initiative, the State is grooming three economic regions in Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati and the master plans for the same are ready according to Mr. Lokesh.

The Central government is stated to be extending huge budgets for the same.

This apart, the government is creating glass clusters across the State. “There was no glass cluster in India and we have it now. All kinds of glass will be made in A.P. which is unique,” Mr. Lokesh said.

Major industry players in the segment such as Hindustan National Glass, Saint Gobain, Triveni Glass and Matrix Glass Industries, are among the entities setting up facilities in different parts of Andhra Pradesh and they are in different stages of development. 

To aid the potential growth, the government is also promoting the necessary infrastructure. Tenders for container terminals and ports in the PPP mode will be called for soon. “The State is keen on speed of doing business. We are fast-tracking all the projects. The Bhogapuram international airport will be completed by the end of June,” Mr. Lokesh added.

He further said that the State finances are tight due to mismanagement by the previous government and efforts are under way to set the processes to ensure financial stability, he said.

Referring to IT sector, Mr. Lokesh opined that there is a lot to be done in the State. “We can’t match other States in IT today, but in the days to come, we aim to be one of the top five. We have Google Data Centre, TCS, Infosys and other projects here. We anticipate a rapid growth. We are looking at opportunities amid AI challenges,” he said.

The A.P. government is creating Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in a big way to cater to the industry demands. To address the skill gap, the Naipunyam AI-powered portal has been launched by the government.