Andhra mulls southern industrial corridor

The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to set up a southern industrial corridor and is pinning its hopes on the global investors’ summit to be held in Hyderabad in November to make this project a success. Chief minister K Rosaiah has written a letter to Union commerce and industry minister Ananda Sharma seeking the Centre’s cooperation in making the summit a success and in getting necessary assurances so that the proposed industrial corridor can soon become a reality. The state will utilise the summit to showcase the potential of Andhra Pradesh and its brand image as the most favoured destination for investment. Senior officials of Industries and APIIC including B Sam Bob and B R Meena have been asked to prepare a blueprint for the proposed corridor so that the state could seek Centre’s approval and its assistance in promoting industrial development. The government will also make a detailed presentation on the availability of human and natural resources in the state. Andhra Pradesh, the sources said has the lowest power tariff among industrially developed states in the country. For instance, industrial power tariff in AP is just Rs 3.80 a unit while it is Rs 4.91 in Gujarat, Rs 5.20 in Maharashtra, Rs 4.90 in Karnataka, Rs 4.52 in Tamil Nadu, Rs 4.04 in UP, Rs 4.42 in West Bengal and Rs 4.84 in Madhya Pradesh. Once the ongoing power projects are completed, AP would have A generation capacity of 16,865 MW, the sources added. The proposed industrial corridor will be modelled on the lines of the Delhi - Mumbai industrial development corridor, the southern corridor would span from Bangalore to Chennai covering Andhra Pradesh. This will enable the state to utilise Krishna-Godavari basin gas for the development of the state besides promoting satellite townships along the corridor. In addition, the corridor would supplement the activities of the ambitious petrol, chemical and petrochemical investment region (PCPIR) coming up between Kakinada and Visakhapatnam, officials said.