PNS|Visakhapatnam
Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy has predicted that Visakhapatnam would be the capital city of Andhra Pradesh.
Talking to the media here on Saturday, Kishan Reddy described Visakhapatnam as the capital city of AP.
Kishan Reddy’s comments referring to Visakhapatnam as the capital city of AP created a flutter in the BJP State leaders who are opposing the shifting of the capital from Amaravati.
BJP leaders including State president Somu Veerraju and others have been opposing shifting of the capital city to Visakhapatnam.
However, it is not clear whether Kishan Reddy made the statement in his individual capacity or as a Union Minister. After participating in the Global Investors Summit, Kishan Reddy campaigned on behalf of BJP MLC candidate Madhav.
The BJP leaders were shocked at Kishan Reddy’s prediction that Visakhapatnam would become the capital of AP. The BJP leaders even participated in the ‘Nyaya Sthanam’ to ‘Devasthanam’ padayatra by the Amaravati region farmers opposing the shifting of the capital city to Visakhapatnam.
Earlier in the day, Kishan Reddy said, “AP has a competitive advantage in sectors such as marine products and shrimps, drugs and pharmaceuticals, electronics, petroleum, engineering goods, etc. There is a clear opportunity for the state and center to work together in taking AP to new highs, mentioned Reddy.” “Our railway budget allocation for AP has increased 9 times from Rs886 cr in 2014 to Rs 8,406 cr now. We will be building 72 world-class railway stations in Andhra. AP is the only state to have 3 industrial corridors passing through the state.
The total investment cost for Visakhapatnam smart city is Rs 3000 crore,” the union minister added.
Gudivada Amarnath, Minister of Industries, Infrastructure, Investment & Commerce, Information Technology and Handlooms & Textiles, Government of Andhra Pradesh underlined the strong footprint of global companies in the state and enthusiastic participation of many more prospective investors. “AP can give opportunities across the spectrum, across sectors, and across the value chain. The state has housed facilities of companies representing North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. The strong international community at the summit clearly reflects our global connection. While supporting larger anchor investments, the government also provides support to our MSME sector which is a vibrant and critical component of our economic growth and employment. To match the abundant strength of the state in terms of resources, talent, and infrastructure availability the government will work in equal measure with energy and enthusiasm to meet the expectations. We look forward to working with all to develop AP as India’s economic power engine under the dynamic leadership of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, said Minister.”
In his welcome address, Dr KS Jawahar Reddy – Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh emphasised, “As a state, we have a fast-tracked institutional mechanism that ensures all industry approvals within 21 days and also a single window that brings together 96 services of 24 government departments in one place. We would like to reassure the industry fraternity that we will take great care in providing the necessary hand-holding support to the corporate sector through their investment journey in the state of AP.”
