The Hindu Business Line : Andhra Pradesh eyeing SEZs to generate jobs: CM

Plans for generating jobs: The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, looking at a model of Sri City SEZ after laying a foundation stone for it in Thondur village of Chittoor district on Friday.

R. Balaji

Nellore (AP), Aug. 8 “Andhra Pradesh will use every opportunity to grow well through SEZs,” said the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, while addressing social issues relating to relief and rehabilitation.

Talking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the 5,000-acre multi-product special economic zone, Sri City, at Tada in the south eastern part of the State, he said Andhra sees SEZs as a major opportunity to generate jobs through industrial growth. “Any government worth its salt should promote jobs for youth” and SEZs are a key factor in attracting industrial investments and employment generation, the Chief Minister said.

However, relief and rehabilitation of people who are displaced or those whose land has been acquired for the SEZs is a critical factor in promoting SEZs in the public-private partnership mode.

Andhra Pradesh, one of the largest promoters of SEZs, has done it smoothly because it has effectively addressed the issue. The Government and the SEZ promoters have consistently paid more than the market value while acquiring land and provided training to enable the local people get jobs in the industries coming up within the SEZ.

One major success of the State Government’s industry-friendly policy has been the allocation of the Hyderabad Metro project to a private promoter at no cost to the Government. The bidder is to take over the Rs 12,500-crore project cost without any financial support from the Government. The bidder had assured a revenue of Rs 13,000 crore to the State exchequer during the concession period.

Andhra Pradesh would continue to grow at “plus 10 per cent” thanks to its support to manufacturing sector, the Chief Minister said.

He assured industrialists of the support of the Government in facilitating investments in the State.

Dr J. Geetha Reddy, the Minister for Major Industries, Andhra Pradesh, said out of the 220 SEZs in the pipeline in the country, Andhra had attracted 91 with 54 notified SEZs in 16 districts. The State has emerged the second largest destination for industrial investments after Gujarat in the last two years.

Sri City is promoted by Mr Ravindra Sannareddy, an NRI entrepreneur, though public-private partnership and has a 3,800-acre SEZ and a 1,200-acre domestic tariff area. It is on the NH 5 about 55 km north of Chennai. The master planning is done by Jurong Consultants, Singapore.

At the launch, over 10 companies bringing in investments of nearly Rs 1,000 crore finalised a lease agreement to take up space within the SEZ. Over the next 5 years, the SEZ is expected to house over 300 units that would have invested Rs 17,500 crore and generated 1.75 lakh jobs.

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