₹125-cr Economic City at Jakkampudi by Dec.

Footwear, printing, steel utensils evince interest

An Economic City with an industrial cluster for setting up of a variety of industries at Jakkampudi on the outskirts of Vijayawada will become a reality by December. The ₹125-crore project has been cleared and tenders have been called for the construction of the multi-storeyed industrial complex, according to the Andhra Pradesh Township & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (APTIDCL).

A typical Economic City is expected to contain an industrial cluster with basic infrastructure, residential complexes and recreation facilities. They will be developed as an extension of the existing cities on the outskirts.

Self-financing city

The city will be built on self-financing basis. With demand from various industries, more than 25 lakh square feet space has been already booked, APTIDCL Executive Vice Chairman V. Ramnath told The Hindu .

“The beauty of the project is that the demand from the market is driving the project. We have more than 300 bookings from various industries . And commercial banks are ready to finance the project to the tune of ₹100 crore. The Urban Infrastructure Promotion Committee, headed by Chief Secretary Dinesh Kumar, has cleared it. It is being taken up on fast track. Tenders have been called now.”

The government has allotted more than 100 acres at around ₹50 lakh per acre. Printing, footwear, packaging, stainless steel utensils, plastic wear and pen-making entities are among the industries who have shown concrete interest. The cluster plans to create south India’s largest footwear park, Mr. Ramnath said. Cheaper labour was one of the sweet spots, he said.

As per the government’s plan, six such cities will be developed in the next two years.