Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday said Andhra Pradesh’s capital would be shifted to Visakhapatnam in a few months. The statement assumes significance in the wake of cases on the capital issue pending in the Supreme Court.
He made these remarks at a curtain-raiser programme for the Global Investors Summit, scheduled to be organised at Visakhapatnam in March, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
“I am here to invite you to Visakhapatnam which will be our capital. I will also be shifting to Vizag in months to come. I invite you and your colleagues to see for yourself how easy it is to do business in Andhra Pradesh.”
Mr. Reddy’s assertion comes against the backdrop of the cases pending before the apex court. The Supreme Court is supposed to hear the case on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the capital cases have not reached the Division Bench of the Supreme Court before which they were listed.
The Chief Minister made this statement in front of several international dignitaries attending the State Government’s diplomatic alliance meeting in the national capital.
‘Fastest growing State’
Exhorting them to participate in the Global Investors Summit (GIS) scheduled to be held at Visakhapatnam on March 3 and 4, Mr. Reddy explained the advantages of investing in the plug-and-play industrial ambience of fastest-growing Andhra Pradesh.
As a fastest growing State in the country with a GSDP of 11.43%, Andhra Pradesh had achieved the number one rank in the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and also retained it for the third successive year, he said, and called upon the dignitaries to invest in Andhra Pradesh and be part of its economic growth.
Elaborating on the facilities and resources available in the State for industrial growth, he said that out of the 11 industrial corridors being developed by the Centre across the country, Andhra Pradesh shared space for three of them — Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam to Chennai and Chennai to Bengaluru.
Having a long coastline of 974 km, the State had vast natural resources with 48 minerals, Mr. Reddy said, adding that the State had a single desk portal to clear licences in 21 days.
The Chief Minister underscored the fact that availability of various industrial clusters such as textile, cement, medical, renewable energy, food and automobiles would offer plenty of opportunities for industrialists to make investments in the State and grow their businesses besides providing employment to the youth.
The State had excellent connectivity with six seaports and six airports with four more seaports to be added soon, said Mr. Reddy, outlining that Andhra Pradesh stood as the gateway of southeast Asia due to its strategic location, having the added advantage of inland waterways.
