SIPB okays projects worth Rs. 28,546-crore investment

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who chaired the 7th State-level Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meeting on Thursday, approved 19 projects involving Rs 28,546 crore investment in total. He declared that additional incentives would be provided to industries and projects located in the state's backward regions.

The projects cleared on Thursday are expected to create employment opportunities for 30,270 individuals. So far, across the seven SIPB meetings, approvals have been given to projects involving investments totaling Rs 5,34,684 crore, generating job prospects for 4,73,969 people. The Chief Minister emphasised that establishing industries would spur development in those regions, create employment for locals, and ensure balanced prosperity across the state. The Chief Minister stressed that locals should receive majority of jobs in the upcoming industrial projects in the state.

Therefore, skill development for youth should be treated as a core policy objective, he added. The Chief Minister reiterated that the coalition government was committed to balanced development across all regions of Andhra Pradesh.

Naidu also made it clear that companies, which were given land, must establish their units within the stipulated timeline. He instructed officials to engage in discussions with representatives of such companies. He mentioned that MSME parks were being established in every Assembly constituency across the state. They should be utilised to promote entrepreneurs under the ‘One Family – One Entrepreneur’ initiative.

Naidu also said that tourism, IT, and food processing industries should become key drivers of development. He noted that the State currently had immense potential in these sectors and called for promoting entrepreneurship accordingly. He proposed developing boat tourism projects near Papikondalu along with the Polavaram Project. He instructed officials to explore operating luxury boats and cruise ships in Visakhapatnam and other coastal areas of the state in collaboration with interested companies.

The Chief Minister underlined that various companies that had signed MoUs in the hospitality sector should expedite their construction work. He directed that necessary infrastructure be developed near industrial projects.