Visakhapatnam: In a significant development, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has agreed to fund the Vizag Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and also its nodal agency, had submitted the final report of 366 page Conceptual Development Plan to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of the union government.
As part of the VCIC strategy, four industrial nodes were identified. In the final plan, the Machilipatnam node has been renamed as Gannavaram-Kankipadu that comes under the new capital region.
Other nodes are Yerpedu–Srikalahasthi, Kakinada and Visakhapatnam. Pharmaceuticals, auto and auto components, textiles, metallurgy, chemicals and petrochemicals, electronics and food processing are the key industries that can be established in the VCIC region.
ADB in its report felt that while economic growth in Andhra Pradesh has matched the national growth rate over the last decade, the recent division of the state posed significant challenges to growth because it excludes industrial activity, including information technology activities, around Hyderabad.
“However, the development of the metallurgical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries in the north and the continued expansion of industrial activity in the food processing sector and, industrial development within Sri City in the south will contribute to Andhra Pradesh’s industrial base, while growth in traffic through the seaports and increasing power generation capacity will facilitate economic development,” the report said.
Connectivity infrastructure, logistics, urban connectivity and skilled manpower availability emerge as the key success factors.
