VIJAYAWADA: Union Minister for Railways and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has assured the Centre’s support for Andhra Pradesh’s plans to emerge as a global hub for semiconductor design, with assistance for research and development (R&D), skill training and capacity building. He also assured cooperation with the State government’s vision for artificial intelligence (AI) development and infrastructure.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, during his visit to Delhi on Saturday, called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed issues concerning the State. He later met Vaishnaw to review railway projects and seek early approval of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), release of funds and expediting of pending works.
The Chief Minister proposed several projects, including the Vijayawada Bypass Railway Line at an estimated cost of Rs 3,197 crore, the Kovvur-Bhadrachalam Railway Project at Rs 2,860 crore, the Ongole-Donakonda Railway Project at Rs 1,800 crore and the Anakapalli-Kothavalasa Bypass Project at Rs 2,190 crore.
For the Vijayawada bypass, Naidu sought two new bridges across the Krishna River. He proposed implementing the Kovvur-Bhadrachalam project under a cost-sharing arrangement and called for four railway lines to improve capacity on the Vijayawada-Itarsi and Kharagpur-Vijayawada routes, with completion targeted within two years.
Naidu sought a high-speed rail corridor between Amaravati and Visakhapatnam.
Vaishnaw agreed to introduce a sleeper Vande Bharat train between Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru via Tirupati, as well as a daytime train with seating facilities between Visakhapatnam and Tirupati. Naidu also requested passenger services on the newly constructed Kanigiri-Vijayawada railway line.
The Union Minister approved the required railway connectivity for nine ports.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation K Ram Mohan Naidu accompanied the Chief Minister.