Investors’ community is pinning high hopes on Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in using his good office to get a slew of incentives promised by the Centre implemented as fast as possible to transform Visakhapatnam into a mega city.
Special State category status, special package for north Andhra and incentives, including tax holiday, which were promised before bifurcation raised a lot of expectancy among the investors.
“We want all those incentives and single window clearances to make Vizag a mega city,” said Vizag Development Council vice-president O. Naresh Kumar. He also wanted Central nod for the IT Investment Region.
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An extent of 1,750 acres at Kapulauppada, which has been caught in litigation with a Delhi-based company, should be earmarked for setting up an NRI start-up village, he said. The site allotment was cancelled after the allottee allegedly failed to fulfil the conditions to develop a Knowledge City with international golf course, star hotels, integrated townships, and multiplexes.
Mr. Naresh Kumar said if the area was allotted to NRIs for start-up village, it could generate jobs for one lakh people in two to three years. He wanted authorities to sort out the litigation as soon as possible.
He also wanted establishment of AP High Court and railway zone headquarters in the city as per the promise made by Mr. Naidu on the floor of the Assembly.
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The investors are also batting for relocation of important offices in the city from Hyderabad to ensure decentralised development. The Sivaramakrishnan Committee has also recommended the location of fisheries, IT, AP Pollution Control Board and industries to Visakhapatnam. “The AP Maritime Board should be established without buying anytime and its headquarters located in the city. This will pave the way for heavy investments in maritime-based industries like minor ports, fishing jetties, seafood exports and food processing units and tourism projects,” said Sravan Shipping Services Managing Director G. Sambasiva Rao.