Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has asserted his government’s commitment to develop the State as an industrial hub leveraging the advantages offered by the proposed Visakhapatnam-Chennai and Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridors.
Mr. Naidu continued his strong pitch for investments in the State during his meeting with Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam who hosted a dinner for the visiting delegation. The Chief Minister said his visit to Singapore was primarily aimed at attracting investments for fulfilling the State’s vision for development and employment.
Mr. Shanmugaratnam told Mr. Naidu that entrepreneurs in Singapore were exploring opportunities to invest in Andhra Pradesh in view of the inherent advantages like natural resources, human resource potential and entrepreneurial spirit of the people. Being a small nation, Singapore was adopting a focussed approach for development and was keenly watching the developments in India, he said.
The Chief Minister also called on former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and explained to him about the government’s plans for development of smart cities in the new State. Seeking cooperation of the Singapore government in the State’s development plans, he said Andhra Pradesh offered opportunities for agricultural and food related industries.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister held a meeting with the CEOs of major companies and discussed about the scope for improving air connectivity between different destinations within the State. The government had planned development of three international airports and a few smaller airports.
He enquired about the scope for development of surface transport infrastructure in the State with the authorities of the Centre for Liveable Cities. The delegation keenly learnt about the practices put in place by the Singapore government in improving public transport related to private transport, bus network and metro network.
While holding discussions with the Singapore Land Transport Academy officials, Mr. Naidu recalled that the academy had assisted Jaipur in designing its surface transport plan and wanted the officials concerned to extend the same cooperation to Andhra Pradesh. The delegation also met the officials of the Singapore Housing Development Board and held discussions about creating housing facilities in the State Capital as well as other cities. Officials explained the delegation about the mechanism put in place for housing construction, loan facilities, rental flats and community centres in Singapore.
