Naming the Vakalapudi Beach on the city outskirts as ‘NTR Beach,’ Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu on Saturday said that the coastal region would soon sport a new look as all the ports would be connected through industrial corridors and seaplanes. Inaugurating the three-day ‘Kakinada Beach Festival’ along with Home Minister N. China Rajappa at the beach here, Mr. Ramakrishnudu said that places located adjacent to the seacoast had registered development on a fast pace, as the tourism and industrial development could go hand in hand in those areas. Citing cities such as Singapore, Dubai, New York and London as examples for achieving overall development in a very short span, Mr. Ramakrishnudu attributed the development to the seacoasts.
“Andhra Pradesh too had the coastline, which is nothing but a gold mine for us. Plans are afoot to make better use of this coastline by way of developing it on industrial and tourism fronts. The Union government has already announced the coastal corridor project and the State government is focusing on developing tourism projects here,” he said.
Mr. Ramakrishnudu said that in addition to the existing port in Kakinada, one more port would come up very soon. “Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is planning bullet trains and six-lane roads for this region. It will become a reality very soon provided the development of agriculture, industrial and tourism sectors here,” he said. Mr. China Rajappa said that the State government would develop a ‘Shilparamam’ by spending Rs. 5 crore and eco-tourism by spending another Rs. 3 crore very soon. “The State government has already declared Sankranti as the State festival and released funds for the purpose. The festival will be celebrated in the rural pockets on January 12 and in the mandal headquarters on January 13,” he said. Kakinada Rural MLA Pilli Ananthalakshmi presided over the inaugural function. Kakinada MP Tota Narasimham, government whip K.V.V. Satyanarayana Raju, in-charge Collector R. Mutyala Raju, officials and elected representatives were present.
