Vizag to be developed as economic capital of Andhra: Nara Lokesh

Visakhapatnam, Sep 25 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Minister for Education, Information Technology (IT) and Electronics, Nara Lokesh, on Wednesday said that Visakhapatnam will be developed as the economic capital of the state and fifth largest city in India.

He also revealed that a route map has been designed to take Andhra Pradesh to the number one position in the country.

He was addressing the Infrastructure Summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised in this port city.

Nara Lokesh claimed that the TDP-led NDA government is according highest priority for creating basic amenities.

Regretting that due to the previous government's negligence industrial development in the state came to a standstill, he said, adding that all necessary steps were being taken to bring the state back on track.

Promising to develop Visakhapatnam as the economic capital of the state, Nara Lokesh said that the works on the Visakha-Chennai Industrial Corridor are being accelerated.

"Ease of doing business is past but now we are moving forward with speed of doing business," he added.

Maintaining that the target is to develop Visakhapatnam as the number one IT hub in the world, the IT Minister announced that as part of the scheme an international-level data centre is going to be established here.

North Andhra Pradesh will be developed as a pharma hub, he said and expressed the hope that all the North Andhra Pradesh districts, including Visakhapatnam, are going to witness a radical progress once the Bhogapuram international airport comes into existence.

Nara Lokesh declared that new industrial, IT and electronics policies will soon be announced with industrial-friendly schemes and said that under the leadership of an young IAS officer the Economic Development Board has been revived.

Claiming that the state is moving at a fast pace towards development under the able guidance of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, he said now the focus is on decentralisation of development.

Steps are being taken now to take all the districts towards the progress path by setting up different sectors in each district, he added.

Regretting that basic amenities and roads have been completely neglected in the past five years, Nara Lokesh said the largest petrochemical corridor is coming in the Godavari districts.

Calling upon the industrialists to become partners in achieving the goal of creating 20 lakh jobs in the state, the IT Minister asked them to play a key role in Vikasitha Andhra Pradesh.

The Minister for Infrastructure, Investments, Roads and Buildings, B.C. Janardhan Reddy; the Chairman of the State unit of the CII, V Murali Krishna; and the GMR Airports Business, GBS Raju were among those who addressed the meeting.

Janardhan Reddy said that works of Ramayapatnam, Machilipatnam, Bhavanapadu and Kakinada ports are moving at a fast pace with an investment of Rs 17,000 crore while the national infrastructure project is in the pipeline.

The Visakhapatnam MP, Mathukumilli Bharat, said that the state government has already initiated steps to complete the Bhogapuram international airport in another 18 months.

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