VER aiming for a $120 billion economy, says CM
Vijyawada:Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced plans to develop the Visakha Economic Region as the growth engine of Andhra Pradesh, with plans for a $120 billion economy for this region by 2032.
Naidu said the government would develop Visakhapatnam on the lines of Mumbai in the next seven years.The economic region includes eight districts, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, ASR and Manyam. Officials should plan projects that would boost economic activity across this 8-district zone.
The Chief Minister was speaking at a review meeting with NITI Aayog officials at the Secretariat on Friday. As for VER, Naidu proposed development centred around 6 ports, 7 manufacturing nodes, 17 major agricultural zones, 6 service hubs and 12 tourism hubs. He asked officials to identify one lakh acres for various projects.
NITI Aayog officials presented a detailed PowerPoint presentation. They outlined plans around seven growth drivers: ports, IT, agriculture, tourism, healthcare, urban development, and infrastructure. A total of 41 projects would be prioritised for implementation.
The CM noted that the Visakha Region spanned 36,000 sq-km. “This is home to a population of 15.5 million and its current GDP is around $49 billion. The region could generate 20 to 24 lakh jobs by 2032, making it crucial to the state's future growth.”
He said, “If these plans are realised within the next seven years, the region could see the construction of 7.5 lakh housing units, 10,000 hotel rooms, up to 20 innovation centers, 10 colleges, 7,000 hospital beds, industrial development across 20,000 hectares, 80 million sq-ft of office space and 60 million sq-ft of warehousing capacity.”
Treating the coastal corridor as a wealth generator, Naidu said, “We will develop beach roads from Mulapeta to Visakhapatnam and from Visakhapatnam to Kakinada. These will be connected to national highways. The coast is a treasure trove, we must leverage it fully.”
He said, “Tourism is being treated as an industry and our new policy is investor-friendly. With future needs in mind, we will ensure continuous skill training for youth. We're adopting 'Work from Home' and Knowledge Economy outsourcing models. The goal is to provide work-from-home opportunities to 20 lakh people.”
Naidu said the government aimed to develop Visakhapatnam as a steel hub in collaboration with the country’s top 3 steel firms; with focus on petrochemicals, gas grid, port development, petrochem-medical tech, shipbuilding, defence, electronics, clean tech and labour-intensive manufacturing.
“Our target is creation of 4–5 lakh jobs in the IT sector over the next 7 years. Emphasis would be on setting up data centres, startups and innovation hubs. In addition to four ongoing railway projects, seven new railway projects would be completed by 2032. We are launching nine new road projects to support manufacturing nodes and ports and the Vizag Metro project, through 77 km. The work would be executed between 2028 and 2030,” he said.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the state government, NITI Aayog and the ISEG Foundation in the presence of the chief minister for outlining the state energy transition roadmap.
Energy minister Gottipati Ravikumar, NITI Aayog CEO Subramanyam, chief secretary Vijayanand, representatives of the ISEG Foundation were present.
