VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was on Cloud Nine with the successful conduct of International Fleet Review (IFR) at Visakhapatnam.
Speaking to mediapersons in Vijayawada on Monday, he said it was the second prestigious international event to be held in Visakhapatnam and termed the city the Naval Capital of the country.
“Top delegates from 50 countries have participated in the prestigious event, where the President and Prime Minister had the rare honour inspecting the guard of honour by the Navies of different countries. It is once in a lifetime opportunity and I am proud that Visakhapatnam has proved itself as host par excellence to this huge event,” he said.
Lavishing praise on the Port City, which he said had stolen the hearts of the visiting dignitaries with its clean and beautiful environs, Chandrababu Naidu said the people of Visakhapatnam have proved themselves to be the best hosts.
“No one believed that the city was devastated a year and a half ago by deadly Hudhud cyclone. Today, it is a different city with wide roads, well laid pavements and greenery everywhere,” he said.
Chief Minister said that apart from the Indian Navy, state government had investment much in monetary and manpower terms to make the event a grand success. “We have spent Rs 133.32 crore through different departments for the beautification and for provision of better facilities in the city. Visakhapatnam has the largest number of LED street lights in South India,” he said.
Naidu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on blue economy and knowledge-based economy had proved his stance on port-based development in the state is the right one.
“For long, I have been saying that development of the state is only possible by taking advantage of the long coast we have. The Prime Minister’s words have only reinforced it. In accordance with country’s Look East policy, Andhra Pradesh is making efforts to turn itself into a logistic hub for Southeast Asia,” he said.