Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor project on fast track in AP

Andhra Pradesh : A major infrastructure project in the southern region, the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC), took another step forward towards its on-ground implementation with the signing of Shareholder's Agreement (SHA) and State Support Agreement (SSA) for Krishnapatnam, its priority node in Andhra Pradesh.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was present at the signing of the agreements by Alkesh K Sharma, CEO, National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) and A Babu, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC).

The NICDIT has initiated activities related to the detailed master planning and preliminary engineering works for the Krishnapatnam node of the CBIC, a 560 km long corridor between the metropolises of Chennai and Bengaluru, having an influence area spread across the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Andhra Pradesh has now put the project on fast track, and with the execution of the SHA and SSA, it has delegated the relevant powers and functions under various state legislations to the Special Purpose Vehicle which will be incorporated between the central and state governments for implementation of the Krishnapatnam node.

Besides Krishnapatnam, Tumkur in Karnataka and Ponneri in Tamil Nadu are the other two nodes identified for development in the first phase of the CBIC.

The industrial development at Krishnapatnam, which will be spread over an area of approx. 50 sq. kms, is intended as a seed for its growth into a fully functional industrial township.

The township will be developed on the principles of 'Live-Work-Play' and 'Walk to Work' concepts. All sustainability features will be embedded into the city and there will be a 'City Integrated Command and Control Centre' to monitor the city on a daily basis.

It has been strategically selected for its many advantages, including proximity to the port; the coastal town is only 80 kms from the proposed SEZ at Naidupeta, 130 km from Sri City, 40 km from Nellore city and 90 km from Tirupati airport.

It is estimated that the implementation of Krishnapatnam node will lead to approximately 5,82,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.

The NICDIT, which is overseeing all the industrial corridor projects in the country, has already appointed consultants for preparing detailed master plan and engineering of various trunk infrastructure components like roads and underground services, water, power, sewerage, drainage and ICT planning for the node.

"These agreements pave the way for the creation of the SPV to which the state will delegate powers, granting it functional autonomy and ensuring that the various components of the project move smoothly forward," said Alkesh Sharma.

"The government of Andhra Pradesh has set the pace for the implementation and we expect progress will be made soon on other nodes as well."

CBIC is among the five large-scale industrial corridors planned by the government to strengthen manufacturing in India and raise its contribution to the GDP from 15 percent currently to 25 percent by 2022.