The Andhra Pradesh government has sanctioned Rs 1,448 crore to form a special purpose vehicle, NKICDL (NICDIT Krishnapatnam Industrial City Development Limited), with equity from the Union government as well to establish, promote and facilitate the development of Krishnapatnam Industrial Node of the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). The SPV is formed by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) and National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), a statement from APIIC's chief engineer's office said.
"The development works are spread over an extent of 2,500 acres (approximately) which will generate around 1 million direct and indirect jobs by 2040 in the state of Andhra Pradesh," said the note. Food processing, automobile and auto components, textile and wearing apparels, chemical, pharmaceutical and manufacturing of electrical equipment, computer electronics and optical products are expected to come up in the industrial node. These sectors have been identified as enablers of faster development in this region.
"The Krishnapatnam industrial node is being developed with world class infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, utilities, STP, CETP and solid waste management, administrative building, power supply system and water supply system," the statement added. Meanwhile, the state government uploaded the project tender document on the judicial preview website for vetting as well as to receive comments and suggestions from the public.
Earlier in August 2020, the Andhra Pradesh government announced its industrial policy for 2020-23, which had a heavy focus on providing pre-approved land parcels for big investors at industrial parks. It has also identified 10 sectors including food processing, textiles, pharma and biotechnology, aerospace, among others as ‘thrust sectors’, for which the government planned to extensively reach out to investors.
State Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy recently shared a “snapshot” of industries and investments which came to Andhra Pradesh in the last two years, since the formation of the YSRCP government. He shared that nearly Rs 30,000 crore has been committed in investments between June 2019 and May 2021, with committed employment for 45,049 people. The opposition TDP refuted these claims, saying many of these projects had already been approved under the previous TDP government.