CII Partnership Summit, the annual flagship international event organised in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and the host State may not be held in Andhra Pradesh next year, according to indications.
The event, which used to be organised amid fanfare after the Telugu Desam Party formed the first government in the State post bifurcation, may not take place in 2020 as the CII is yet to get any feelers from the State government.
The TDP when it was in power had held three editions of Partnership Summit coinciding with Sunrise Investment Summit hosted by AP Economic Development Board. The YSR Congress Party government, which came to power with a thumping majority in the elections held in April, had rubbished the MoUs signed by the erstwhile government saying it was merely a publicity stunt.
“As on today there is no indication of holding Partnership Summit to showcase the investment potential in various sectors in the State,” a CII member, who served as head of the AP chapter, has told The Hindu.
Incidentally, CII initiates preparations well in advance in inviting various stakeholders to the summit. During his stint, the then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had announced Visakhapatnam as the permanent venue for the summit due to its strategic location and availability of good hotels.
However, the APIIC Harbour Park grounds, which used to be the venue for the summit, is now under the possession of UAE-based LuLu Group for construction of an international convention centre, five star hotel and a multiplex.
Under review
The LuLu Group’s ambitious project, for which Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu performed ‘bhoomi pooja’ during the Partnership Summit organised in February, 2018, is under review by the YSRCP government for its failure to launch work on time. There is also criticism over the circumstances under which the APIIC land along with a piece of land acquired from a function hall had been allotted to the investor.
Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy during his recent visit to the city said the new government would encourage only genuine investors and safeguard the interest of the State by allotting land at a competitive price.
During the first summit in 2016, MoUs envisaging ₹4.67 lakh crore were signed. This was followed by MoUs with proposals worth ₹10.54 lakh crore. Finding out poor realisation, the MoU signing spree was brought under check and it was restricted to ₹4.39 lakh crore in the summit held in February, 2018.
