Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday, January 6, called for developing island tourism in the state on the lines of the Maldives. The Chief Minister directed the officials to prepare a master plan for beach tourism.
Addressing the Pradesh State Investment Board meeting, CM Chandrababu said that the Suryalanka beach (popularly known as Bapatla beach) should be developed over a stretch of 15 kilometres. Along with Suryalanka, the small islands near Sullurpeta can also be developed under beach tourism.
"We should develop island tourism on the lines of the Maldives. If we can build 25,000 rooms, we can attract tourists," he said.
Chandrababu wanted officials to focus on developing the Papikondalu-Polavaram region for tourism. Konaseema, Pulicat, and Visakhapatnam clusters will become excellent tourism clusters. There is also potential for tourism from Anantapur to Gandikota.
He said plans should be prepared to ensure that the Tourism Corporation generates an income of Rs 1,000 crore in the next 15 years. The Andhra Pradesh State Investment Board meeting on Tuesday approved 14 projects involving investments to the tune of Rs 19,391 crore. The meeting cleared the projects in the industries, tourism, food processing, and energy sectors, which are likely to create employment opportunities for 11,753 youth.
With this, the SIPB has so far approved investments worth Rs. 8,74,705 crore, which is expected to create employment opportunities for 8,35,675 people. The Chief Minister praised the teamwork of officials in attracting huge investments during 2025 and advised them to work with the same team spirit during 2026 also.
Referring to achievements in the power sector, the Chief Minister said that the state government decided to bear Rs 4500 crore true-up charges without passing on the burden to consumers and on the other hand, reduced power tariff by 13 paise per unit.
He said a target was set to purchase power at Rs 3.70 per unit by 2029. Several companies, including data centres, are coming forward to invest in Andhra Pradesh because of the progress in the power sector. He asked officials to adopt the speed of delivering governance.