VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday, approved a series of policy measures aimed at accelerating industrial growth, attracting global investments, expanding digital infrastructure and generating large-scale employment opportunities for the youth. In all, the Cabinet approved 87 agenda items.
Besides clearing the projects already approved by the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) last week, the Cabinet took several other key decisions.
Tourism received a major boost with clearances for luxury hospitality projects, including Accor, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Marriott, Club Mahindra, Oberoi and Daiwik hotel ventures in Amaravati, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Kurnool.
The Cabinet also approved revised port operational limits for Machilipatnam and Ramayapatnam ports. It cleared a proposal for setting up a sustainable aviation fuel facility at Kakinada and for establishing technology-enabled registration service centres.
It also gave the nod for the expansion of BC welfare residential schools, scholarship support for SC and ST students in deemed universities, and infrastructure projects in Amaravati funded by the World Bank, ADB and HUDCO.
Disclosing the decisions approved by the Council of Ministers, Information and Public Relations Minister Kolusu Parthasarathy said the Cabinet’s decisions were part of the government’s broader strategy to position Andhra Pradesh as a leading destination for investments, manufacturing, technology and sustainable development.
Stating that creating quality employment opportunities for lakhs of youth remains a top priority, he said the Cabinet discussed proposed industrial expansion expected to generate substantial direct and indirect employment while promoting skill development programmes to prepare local youth for emerging job opportunities.
He said the government’s strategy focuses on developing industrial clusters. Under the cluster-based approach, automobile manufacturing units, battery production facilities, toy manufacturing industries, electronics units and ancillary industries will be established in designated regions to create integrated industrial ecosystems.
The Cabinet also reiterated its commitment to leveraging the State’s strategic advantages, including its coastline, ports, natural resources and transport connectivity, to drive industrialisation.
Parthasarathy said the government was focusing on creating integrated industrial ecosystems rather than standalone manufacturing units.
He said the Cabinet approved large-scale data centre investments that will position Amaravati and Visakhapatnam as emerging global digital infrastructure hubs. CtrlS Data Centers Limited will establish a 100 MW facility in Anakapalli district with an investment of `2,788 crore, while Sify Infinite Spaces Limited will expand its proposed 500 MW data centre project in Visakhapatnam with a total investment of `15,266 crore.
The Cabinet also approved incentives and land allocations for several major industrial projects, including rare-earth magnet manufacturing units by Proterial India and NAN MagneTech, AP JSW Steel’s beneficiation plant in Prakasam district, Premier Energies’ solar manufacturing expansion in Tirupati, Royal Enfield’s motorcycle plant, and defence sector projects by Ananth Technologies, Spacefields and Icom Tele Limited.
