AP hits jackpot with Rs.13.25L crore MoUs

Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh recorded one of its largest investment commitments to date at the CII Partnership Summit held in Visakhapatnam with the MoUs inked during the two-day event valued at Rs 13,25,716 crore and projected employment of 16,31,188 jobs across 12 major sectors, according to official disclosures.

The state government said that 613 investment agreements were executed, with energy infrastructure, industrial capacity expansion, and digital economy-linked assets forming the dominant share.

The scale of commitments exceeded the government’s working estimate of around Rs 10 lakh crore, reflecting what officials described as renewed investor confidence following a shift in policy direction under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Nearly half of the MoUs by value - Rs 7,63,210 crore - were signed in the presence of the Chief Minister, while agreements to the tune of Rs 5,62,506 crore were formalised in individual minister-led sector sessions. Officials credited the result to faster industrial clearances through SIPB-driven approval cycles, targeted foreign-roadshows in Singapore, UAE and London, and a renewed pitch on infrastructure, policy stability, and energy availability as the state’s investment anchors.

The energy and power sector attracted the single largest share of commitments, valued at Rs 5,33,351 crore - a little over 40 per cent of the total MoUs - aligned with Andhra Pradesh’s push to establish itself as a national green-energy hub. The state has positioned long-tenure renewable supply, grid reliability, and new-age storage ecosystems as key competitive levers for large industrial consumers, including data-center operators.

A 1-gigawatt data-center investment proposal from Reliance was among the notable announcements, reinforcing Visakhapatnam’s ambition to evolve as a long-term digital infrastructure cluster on the eastern seaboard.

The state government has separately stated an ambition to position AP as a 160-GW green-energy platform, signalling continuity with national-level renewable transition goals and emerging green hydrogen and ammonia export discussions.

Industry voices at the venue cited AP’s port-centric geography, logistics corridor potential, power-sector economics, digitally skilled workforce, and land aggregation policies as decisive factors. Senior officials signalled that the next operational phase would prioritise project-level monitoring, milestone-linked facilitation, and zone-based clustering, particularly around Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Krishnapatnam, and Anantapur.

The government has indicated that MoUs will be screened against viability, capital structure, and execution calendar benchmarks, with public tracking to curb non-starter announcements - a historical challenge in large investment summits across India.

The largest share of investment commitments emerged in the power and energy sector, which accounted for Rs 5,33,351 crore with an estimated 2,66,722 jobs, followed by core industrial projects worth Rs 2,80,384 crore, projected to generate 5,19,083 jobs, the highest employment estimate among all sectors.

The infrastructure vertical attracted Rs 2,01,758 crore with a job potential of 3,06,649, while the information technology, electronics and communications category secured Rs 1,59,467 crore in proposals linked to 2,96,315 jobs. Amaravati capital region development under APCRDA recorded Rs 48,711 crore with 41,625 jobs, whereas tourism and leisure projects drew Rs 21,036 crore and are expected to create 1,05,804 jobs. Investment proposals in food processing totalled Rs 13,008 crore for 47,390 jobs, and urban development initiatives amounted to Rs 4,944 crore generating 12,150 jobs. The textile sector received Rs 4,490 crore witha projected 8,450 jobs, while healthcare commitments stoodat Rs 4,208 crore supported by 24,000 jobs, and education projects logged Rs 4,359 crore tied to 3,000 jobs. Additional commitments categorised under miscellaneous sectors totalled another Rs 50,000 crore, for which employment projections were not specified.