VIJAYAWADA: The 21st State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting chaired by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat on Friday, approved 28 industrial proposals with investment of Rs 22,177.84 crore creating employment opportunities to 19,739 youth. The proposals covered sectors including energy, IT and communications, food processing, manufacturing and tourism.
In the 21 SIPB meetings held so far, a total of 387 projects have been approved, with a potential investment of Rs 14.05 lakh crore and employment opportunities for 10.79 lakh people.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister directed officials to create a comprehensive port infrastructure ecosystem along the State’s coastline.
The Chief Minister stressed the need to develop Andhra Pradesh as a leading hardware manufacturing destination and directed officials to attract major investments in advanced sectors such as semiconductors, chip manufacturing and robotics. He called for infrastructure and facilities to be developed at electronics hubs such as Kopparthy, Tirupati and Lepakshi to attract large-scale investments.
He said the State should go beyond electronics manufacturing and build a complete ecosystem encompassing research, design and manufacturing. Similar ecosystems should be developed for solar panel manufacturing, including ancillary industries, technology, skills and infrastructure.
The Chief Minister also directed officials to facilitate the rapid establishment of research and manufacturing institutions in advanced fields such as quantum technology and high-performance computing. A comprehensive plan should be prepared to establish cluster industries around drone and space cities and link them with allied industries.
The Chief Minister directed officials to ensure that projects approved by the SIPB move rapidly into production. Each project should be given a six-month timeline, with efforts made to ensure that work commences within that period.He called for the commercial utilisation of land available around all ports in the State and asked officials to prepare an integrated plan covering logistics, shipbuilding, warehouses, manufacturing and ancillary industries around ports. Fishing harbours should also be developed, he said.
Ship building activities should be expanded in the State not only for cargo vessels but also to meet defence and tourism requirements, the Chief Minister directed.
The CM called for an integrated ecosystem connecting ports, shipbuilding, logistics and industries and directed officials to focus extensively on the logistics sector. He said Andhra Pradesh should be developed as a logistics hub by integrating ports with railways, roads, air cargo and inland waterways to create a comprehensive logistics ecosystem.
He said Tirupati district, supported by Sri City, has secured 10th position in the country in district-wise exports. East Godavari district is currently ranked 12th.