The Andhra Pradesh Government has issued orders authorising the Board of Directors of the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (APIIC) to borrow up to Rs. 5,000 crores from time to time for land acquisition (LA) and for standing as guarantor for a Rs. 2,000-crore loan proposed to be taken by it (APIIC) from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO).
The G.O issued on Monday paved the way for the APIIC to proceed with acquisition of land for industries in the Visakhapatnam–Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), Chennai and Bangalore Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and the Peninsular Region Industrial Development Corridor (PRIDE Corridor) with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The APIIC has targeted to create a land bank of nearly 10 lakh acres and has already identified 1,08,500 acres which cost approximately Rs. 10,645 crore. But since the ADB and the JICA funds will not be available for LA and the company (APIIC)’s finances are not enough to acquire land on such a massive scale, it has to mobilise the resources on its own.
Of the requirement of Rs.10,645 crore, Rs. 2,000 was indicated by the APIIC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director (VC & MD) as an immediate requirement to acquire land for projects committed in the Visakhapatnam district.
The APIIC VC & MD also sought the borrowing limit to be enhanced to Rs. 5,000 crore from the earlier cap of Rs. 1,000 crore.
In view of the constraints of the APIIC and the pace at which the industrial parks are to be established, the Government allowed it (APIIC) to go ahead with its fund-raising exercise.
The following are the projects for which land is to be acquired: Atchutapuram SEZ expansion and Nakkapalli VCIC node (Visakhapatnam district, 1,330 acres), NIMZ, Pamuru, PRIDE, Donakonda and mega industrial hub, Donakonda (Prakasam, 1,962 acres), Krishnapatnam CBIC node and Naidupeta and Pellakuru clusters (Nellore, 2,370 acres), Yerpedu- Srikalahasti VCIC node, electronic manufacturing cluster, Renigunta and Kosalanagaram auto hub (Chittoor, 1,552 acres), Veerapanenigudem MSME Cluster and Peddapuram and Mallavalli clusters (Krishna, 274 acres), Kadiri industrial park, Puttaparthi aerospace hub, NIMZ, Hindupur and Madakasira cluster (Anantapur, 2,156 acres) and Orvakal cluster (Kurnool district, 1,000 acres).
The estimated cost of LA in Prakasam district is the highest at Rs. 39,230 crore. It is followed by Anantapur Rs.18,300 crore, Nellore Rs.15,800 crore, Chittoor Rs.15,270 crore, Kurnool Rs.10,000 crore, Visakhapatnam Rs.7,200 crore and Krishna Rs.2,700 crore.
