Post Hudhud: Vizag bounces back

Several foreign investors are keen on investing in the City of Destiny. Visakhapatnam is one of the three cities selected by the Centre for developing as a smart city with the support of the United States.

December 18, 2014 09:14 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 11:04 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM:

Several foreign investors have shown interest in the campaign launched by the government to showcase ‘Destination Visakhapatnam.’

An eight-member team from Asian Development Bank headed by South Asia Regional Cooperation Director Sekhar Bonu after inspecting Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram ports and other industries expressed satisfaction over the existing infrastructure.

The team said they would finalise the blueprint for Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor in which the Vizag node will be an important part.

A team from China which visited the city under the leadership of Vice-Chairman of Guizhou International Investment Corporation Zhang Zhao said they were ready to invest in logistics, manufacturing and other sectors.

High-level teams from the United States, Canada, Australia, Sharjah, Thailand and Indonesia, which were here, also evinced interest in exploring investment opportunities in seafood, education, R&D and other fields.

The MoU signed by State Tourism Department with Eros Investments Ltd, a subsidiary of NYSE-listed Eros International Plc for setting up India’s first entertainment city at a cost of Rs. 30,000 crore to Rs. 60,000 crore has instilled confidence among the city-based entrepreneurs.

The city also received worldwide acclaim for its resilience in bouncing back in a few days after facing havoc wrought by Hudhud.

Visakhapatnam is one of the three cities selected by the Centre for developing as a smart city with the support of the United States.

“It’s a city with future. The city ranked eighth in contributing $26 billion to GDP among leading cities of India in 2013,” said Vizag zone chairman of CII G.V.L. Satya Kumar. He said petroleum corridor from the city to Kakinada and industrial corridor from here to Chennai would attract huge investments.

The State government has submitted a proposal to the Centre for support to develop IT Investment Region after declaring its resolve to make it the IT capital of AP. The city has an IT turnover of Rs.1500 crore, the highest in the State.

Sunrise Start-up Village was recently launched at Rushikonda for first-generation IT entrepreneurs. “We will groom young entrepreneurs to join billionaires’ club by scripting success stories,” said Kochi Start-up Village CEO Pranav Kumar. Sunrise Start-up Village is being developed to replicate the success story of Kochi.

A team from Boston Consulting Group visited the city sometime ago to prepare Vision 2020 document. “A lot of opportunities are available here to make the city a jewel on the East Coast,” said Anrak Aluminium Ltd President (Projects) Hariharan Mahadevan.

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