Andhra Pradesh makes for an attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country. The State is known for its pristine beaches, sacred places of worship, lush green forests, spicy cuisine and hospitable people, said K. Lakshminarayana, Chairman of the Tourism Committee, The Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry Federation.
Mr. Lakshminarayana tried to hard sell Andhra Pradesh tourism at the Indo-UAE 3{+r}{+d}Annual Business Forum-2016, jointly organised by Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Indian Business & Professional Council, Ras Al Khaima at RAK Chamber of Commerce auditorium, UAE on Wednesday.
In a presentation that was aimed at showcasing the State as an ideal destination to invest in tourism projects, Mr. Lakshminarayana said places like Kolleru Lake, Konaseema, Araku Valley, Borra Caves and Pulicot Lake provided ample opportunities for developers and investors.
Options galore
“The State accounts for 23 per cent of national tourist arrivals and 2.7 per cent of international tourists,” he said listing out the several investment areas such as eco tourism, rural tourism, pilgrim tourism, wellness tourism, adventure tourism, beach tourism, river tourism, eco-theme parks, water sports complexes, wayside amenities and convention facilities.
In the hospitality sector, he said, the investors could think of setting up star hotels and business class hotels, heritage and boutique hotels, budget hotels, service/long stay accommodations, guest houses and paying guest accommodations, motels and dormitories, resorts and forest lodges, restaurants and eateries, food courts and eat streets.
He said the State was seeking partnership to develop world class projects, to combine the infrastructure strength of the Government and the managerial strength of the private sector for developing projects, for helping investors for better viability of the projects, to sustain long-gestation projects, encourage innovative ideas of the entrepreneurs for grounding the projects. It was also to ensure better customer care, he added.
PPP projects
Mr. Lakshminarayana listed out the several landmark projects implemented in the PPP mode, both in Hyderabad and in Andhra Pradesh and also those under implementation. He also explained in detail about the nitty-gritty of the process adopted to select the developer-nomination by negotiations, Swiss Challenge method and competitive bidding process.
The several attractive features of the New Tourism Policy, he claimed, were sure to accelerate investments in tourism sector by leaps and bounds and transform the face of Andhra Pradesh.
Concessional land allotment on long lease basis for 33 years at 2 per cent of the ‘basic market value of the land’, a reduction of 3 per cent from the previous 5 per cent, was a boon to the investors in terms of achieving viability in the current high land value situations.
Complementary/Linkage Infrastructure Development Assistance for ‘last mile connectivity’ for road, power, water and sewerage, transport, communication, health and security services and waivers and exemption of taxes were other highlights, he said.
