VIJAYAWADA: The sixth State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting, held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the State Secretariat on Thursday, approved Rs 33,000 crore investments related to 19 projects, which are expected to generate employment for 35,000 people in the Energy, Tourism, IT, and Electronics sectors.
The SIPB, which had six meetings in the past 11 months, has given its consent for Rs 4,95,796 crore investments with regard to 76 projects, creating a total of 4,50,934 jobs.
Officials stated that the State is making significant progress in industrial growth, with both national and global organizations showing keen interest in investing in the State due to the new policies adopted by the government. Immediately after signing agreements with the State Government, these organizations are initiating the process of establishing their units.
While some have already completed the process of laying foundation stones, others have signed agreements and are in the initial phases of implementation.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to continuously monitor the companies that have committed to investing in the State, from laying the foundation stone to till the inauguration.
Officials are to closely track the progress of each project and develop a dashboard to reflect the status of investments and on-ground developments. This will allow real-time monitoring of each project’s progress, the Chief Minister noted.
CM sets target of 50,000 new hotel rooms for tourism sector
The portal should include details of both the investments and the jobs created, Naidu said. In addition to approving new investments, SIPB meetings should also provide detailed updates on the progress of previously approved projects and agreements, the Chief Minister directed.
Regarding tourism projects, Naidu noted a severe shortage of hotels and rooms. He stated that a large-scale addition of hotel rooms would significantly boost the tourism sector and set a target of adding at least 50,000 rooms. He also emphasized that room rates should remain affordable.
The Chief Minister is particularly concerned about providing better accommodation for pilgrims visiting various temples. He directed officials to improve accommodation facilities at the 21 most popular temples in the State and to make arrangements for rented accommodations where necessary. The Harati programme organized at the Godavari and Krishna rivers should be conducted in a manner that enhances the spiritual atmosphere Naidu said.