Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced that the state would formulate an investment protection law to safeguard investors' interests and urged Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to support the legislation at the Centre.
"I am bringing an Investment Protection Act to safeguard investors from regime changes and political vendetta. The Centre must support it," he said while addressing a session of the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam.
Naidu called for the introduction of a Central Investment Protection Act to provide greater security and confidence to investors across the country. He said concerns over changes in government and political vendetta were creating apprehensions among investors.
His government was preparing a state-level Investment Protection Act and would send the Bill to the Centre after its passage in the Assembly, Naidu said.
He urged Goyal, who is chairing the summit, to take up the proposal with the central government and work towards turning it into a national law.
The Chief Minister expressed confidence that a Central Act offering protection to investors would encourage greater investment in India and attract global investors.
Naidu also outlined investment opportunities, industrial policies and the state's long-term development vision through a PowerPoint presentation.
Highlighting the state's focus on emerging and strategic sectors, he said Andhra Pradesh was working towards becoming a major manufacturing and technology hub in areas such as rare earth minerals, steel production, solar wafers, solar energy and battery energy storage.
The state has identified several priority sectors, including the critical minerals mission, steel policy, solar mission, defence self-reliance, space vision, semiconductor mission, logistics policy, quantum technology, green hydrogen and maritime development.
The Chief Minister said a quantum computer would be established in Amaravati, while quantum equipment would also be manufactured under the 'Made in Amaravati' brand.
A dedicated Drone City was being developed to manufacture drones for civilian and defence applications. Andhra Pradesh also aimed to emerge as a global horticulture hub by attracting investments in food processing and allied industries, he said.
Naidu said the state was granting speedy approvals to translate investment proposals into projects on the ground, citing the Kia automobile manufacturing unit as a successful example of its Speed of Doing Business policy.
The AMCA defence project received approvals and land allocation within just 36 days, while LG Electronics was preparing to commence production within 19 months.
Naidu also outlined ambitious targets for key sectors, including renewable energy and electronics.
The state has set a target of 160 GW of renewable energy generation capacity, with approvals already granted for 114 GW. It aims to achieve annual electronics production worth Rs 4.20 lakh crore. Projects worth around Rs 31,926 crore have already received approvals in electronics and home appliances manufacturing.
For aerospace and defence, the state has set an investment target of Rs 50,000 crore, along with a separate target of Rs 25,000 crore for the space sector.
According to an official statement, approvals have been granted for 42 GW of solar cell manufacturing capacity and 53 GW of ingot and wafer manufacturing capacity.
Data centre projects with a proposed capacity of 4.6 GW have received approval in the state, compared with the existing national installed capacity of around 1.5 GW. A quantum computing manufacturing facility would be established across 250 acres in Amaravati, he said.
Describing Amaravati Quantum Valley as the first such project in South Asia, Naidu announced that it would be inaugurated on February 3, 2027. He added that plans were under way to develop nine greenfield airports, with Bhogapuram, Amaravati and Tirupati serving as major aviation hubs.
He also highlighted proposed high-speed rail corridors spanning 839 km through Andhra Pradesh, alongside an extensive 4,415-km railway connectivity plan.
Naidu said the Godavari's right and left canals could supply water to Visakhapatnam and Amaravati while also creating opportunities to transfer water towards the neighbouring Cauvery basin.
The proposed Godavari-Cauvery river-linking initiative would help meet the water requirements of five states, he said.
The Chief Minister said 25 sector-specific industrial parks were being developed across Andhra Pradesh to promote focused industrial growth.
Key locations and sectors identified include the Srikakulam Chemical Park, Visakhapatnam MedTech, steel ancillary industries and rare earth minerals in Anakapalli, AI data centres and other emerging industrial sectors. He said Tirupati would be developed as a global semiconductor chip design capital.
(With inputs from PTI)