After the Centre did not show any interest to set up an Electronic Manufacturing Cluster at Jagannadhapuram near Parawada, the A. P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has decided to offer alternative sites for the coveted project.
In its recent disclosure on the status of various EMC projects proposed at various places in the country, the Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) under the Ministry of Communications and IT stated that the application had been withdrawn for the project near Visakhapatnam.
The EMC was conceived during the UPA Government in 2011 to develop electronic units in an area of 100 acres. The project would have attracted an investment worth over Rs.100 crore.
Though the APIIC had in principle allotted 100 acres at Jagannadhapuram in Survey No. 26, due to location of hillock and close proximity to the Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC), the officials from the Ministry were understood to have expressed their reservations over the location.
Sources in the APIIC told The Hindu that State government officials were planning to offer alternative sites either in the non-SEZ area at Atchutapuram or Marakavalasa on the city outskirts.
The State government had already written to the Centre on its keenness to encourage investments in electronic clusters to make Visakhapatnam an electronic hub.
“A fresh application will be submitted to get Central approval and funds for setting up the EMC,” a senior official of the APIIC said.
