AP keen on developing 5 PPP industrial nodes

Global connectivity

• Andhra Pradesh will have 10 industrial nodes

• Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, marks first phase of ECEC

• 46,000-acre land bank for immediate allotment

• Govt has identified 3 lakh acres for acquisition in phases

Visakhapatnam: After recognising the three industrial corridors passing through the State as anchor projects to leverage global connectivity, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to structure five among 10 nodes on PPP format.

Three of the 11 industrial corridors being developed in India will pass through 15 districts of AP, namely Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and Hyderabad-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC).

The State government through APIIC has nearly 46,000 acres as land bank for immediate allotment. To meet future requirements, the government has already identified three lakh acres for acquisition in phases. Private industrial parks and MSME parks will also need large parcel of land as the New Industrial Development Policy 2023-27 offers sops like registration and stamp reimbursement.

The new policy, which will come into force from April 1 focuses on alignment with growth poles around seaports as part of port-led industrial development. “We will develop 10 nodes as part of three industrial corridors out of which five are in progress. Work on five more will be taken up soon for which we have identified three lakh acres to meet future requirements,” Minister for Industries and Commerce Gudivada Amarnath said.

VCIC is the country’s first industrial corridor and it marks the first phase of the East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) and one of the most strategically located corridors. A network of six seaports and six airports integrate trade and commerce and the Asia Pacific region. It has container connectivity with potential to transform Visakhapatnam into a transhipment hub.

Presently, five greenfield industrial nodes viz Visakhapatnam, Chittoor/Tirupati, Machilipatnam, Donakonda and Kopparthy are under development. Total extent of land required for these nodes is around 50,000 acres. Officials say the first phase of Visakhapatnam and Chittoor/Tirupati nodes are in an advanced stage of completion.

As CBIC is close to Krishnapatnam Port, the government has identified 14,000 acres for the Krishnapatnam Industrial Area-one among three high impact market-driven nodes. It is expected to enable regional agglomeration of industry in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and AP.

The first phase of the project named KRIS City is coming in around 2500 acres. CBIC will have one more node at Punganur-Palamaner. The government wants to build up an industrial land bank in the region with alignment to create industrial townships as hubs.

HBIC, another key industrial corridor, connects central parts of India with the southern States. The first industrial node under this will come up at Orkaval in Kurnool district. The node will spread over 9,800 acres. Another 8,000 acres have been set apart by the government for two more nodes at Hindupur and Anantapur.