The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the growth of industry, has come forward to showcase the investment potential in Visakhapatnam by promoting ‘Brand Vizag' in a big way.
As the first step in this direction, CII Vizag Zone is organising a summit meet of foreign diplomats from South East Asia here on April 28.
Five Ambassadors, half-a-dozen Deputy High Commissioners and several First Secretaries along with senior officials and top executives of industries are expected to attend the summit being held with the theme ‘business opportunities, investment and industrial development of Visakhapatnam.'
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy during a visit to the city had stated that if there were objections from the Navy to introduce 24-hour operation at the INS Dega airport, the government was ready to consider construction of an international airport.
“We need a coordinated effort to promote Brand Vizag at national and international fora.
Vizag has bright future as Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited itself has signed an agreement at Partnership Summit to invest Rs.40,000 crore.
There is a total committed investment of Rs.80,000 to Rs.1 lakh crore in next few years,” CII zonal chairman and RINL Director (commercial) T.K. Chand, told The Hindu on Thursday.
CII has adopted a three-pronged approach to highlight Vizag's industrial might, tourism potential and its promotion as a hub of connectivity due to its strategic location.
As a tourism spot, CII wants to facilitate development of a golden triangle by attracting investments in creating facilities in lush green Araku Valley, golden beaches of Vizag and the Buddhist sites.
For the industrial units, the location of several engineering and management colleges also offer job-ready professionals.
CII is also in the process of preparing a Vision 2020 document on how to develop Vizag in next eight years. This will help unveil a roadmap for promoting Brand Vizag.
The State Government, which is facing teething problems in attracting investments in its ambitious Visakhapatnam-Kakinada Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region is also planning to take up a publicity campaign to convince the investor fraternity to invest liberally in the region.
