Visakhapatnam Economic Region Development Gains Momentum at High-Level Review

Visakhapatnam: A high-level review on the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER) was held at VMRDA on Thursday, where officials outlined strategies to transform the region into a major economic hub. The meeting, chaired by VER Chief Executive Officer Dr N. Yuvaraj, focused on long-term plans aligned with NITI Aayog’s recommendations.

The proposed VER spans 21,880 sq. km across nine districts — Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Parvathipuram Manyam and Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema. Officials presented an ambitious roadmap to build a 120-billion-dollar economy by 2032, before scaling up to a 1-trillion-dollar economy by 2047 — a major contribution to Andhra Pradesh’s target of reaching 2.40 trillion dollars.

Port-led trade, IT and innovation centres, agriculture and allied sectors, tourism, healthcare, and connectivity infrastructure — including roads, rail and ports — were identified as priority growth engines. The long-term aim is to attract 100–150 billion dollars in investments and create nearly 20 lakh jobs.

Officials noted that Visakhapatnam’s existing strengths lie in its ports, large industries, Special Economic Zones, services sector and marine resources. In line with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s directions, plans are now being drawn up to expand these capabilities and accelerate development across the region.

Former IAS officer and Niti Aayog representative S. Kishore, district collector M.N. Harendira Prasad, VMRDA commissioner N. Tej Bharath, GVMC commissioner Ketan Garg, joint commissioner Ramesh, secretary Muralikrishna and chief planning officer Shilpa were among those present.