Transport infrastructure vital for industrial growth

Visakhapatnam: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Minister Kondapalli Srinivas mentioned that development of the transport sector is essential for the industries’ growth in Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking after visiting an MSME expo organised by the AP Chamber of Commerce and Industry along with Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha on Sunday, the minister informed that as part of the government’s plans, a port would be developed every 150-km, an airport every 200-km and a helipad every 50-km.

Srinivas opined that the exhibition was aimed at creating awareness among industrialists and stated that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had instructed ministers to participate in MSME expos and encourage entrepreneurs.

The MSME Minister said that the coalition government had attracted investments worth Rs 24 lakh crore for industries within two years and it clearly reflects the Chief Minister’s efforts to bring about an industrial revolution in the state. He mentioned that 175 MSME parks would be established in all 175 Assembly constituencies. Of these, 19 parks had already been inaugurated and 138 were under construction. As many as 2,876 new units had already been established through these parks, he informed. Further, Srinivas assured that the government is committed to creating employment opportunities through MSMEs and promoting entrepreneurship as a means of achieving financial self-reliance. The government would work with bankers through its portal to resolve issues faced by entrepreneurs in obtaining bank loans, the minister said. The MSME Minister informed that an agreement was signed with Meta to promote products manufactured in MSME parks through social media and boost their sales. Discussions were underway with Flipkart and Amazon Global to market MSME products globally, he informed.

Speaking on the occasion, Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha opined that such expos would promote the growth of the business and industrial sectors and encourage women entrepreneurs to expand their ventures and explore new opportunities.

BJP state president PVN Madhav stressed the need for cluster-based industrial development in different regions of the state and suggested developing the fruit-processing industry in Visakhapatnam and the nut industry in Palasa. He mentioned that the government had encouraged mango growers affected by the crisis in Chittoor to process and dry mangoes using solar energy. He also referred to the Central government initiatives taken for banana drying in the Anantapur region and the development of the one-gram gold industry in Machilipatnam. North constituency MLA P Vishnu Kumar Raju, District Collector Abhishikth Kishore, Visakhapatnam Port Authority Deputy Chairperson Roshni Aparanji Korati, AP Chamber of Commerce chairman Potluri Bhaskara Rao, zone chairman Shobhan Prakash and vice-chairman M V Pavan Kartheek were present.

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The Hans India