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The Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor project mentioned by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Budget has generated interest among investors and raised the hopes of the public, though it is not really a new proposal.
In fact, the proposal was initially made by the previous UPA Government and was even mentioned in the AP Reorganisation Bill as a sop to Seemandhra.
Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh used to say frequently the proposed corridor would attract investments to the extent of ₹1 lakh croreover the next decade, given the tax incentives being offered to invest in residual Andhra Pradesh.
Jaitley’s specific commitment to the project has triggered hopes as this corridor, running through the seven coastal districts of AP — Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore — and culminating in Chennai, is expected to be of immense benefit to the State.
Smart cityThe other industrial corridor — Chennai-Bangalore — will also cover Nellore and two Rayalaseema districts but its impact will be limited. Jaitley said Krishnapatnam in Nellore district will be developed as an industrial smart city as part of the Chennai-Bangalore corridor.
Several industrial clusters are likely to come up in those seven coastal districts of AP as part of the project. The Finance Minister specifically mentioned the development of Kakinada port and a hardware cluster in the region based on the port.
ADB supportLast week, a team from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) visited Visakhapatnam port, Gangavaram port and other industrial projects to conduct a preliminary study. “They took inputs on cargo handled by us and our projections for the future,” Visakhapatnam Port Deputy Chairman and CII Vizag Zone Chairman GVL Satya Kumar said. The team will submit a report by October.
Experts from PricewaterhouseCoopers and John Arnold, an independent consultant working for the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) also met Visakhapatnam Port Chairman MT Krishna Babu and other senior officials from AP State Special Economic Zone, Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City and AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation. There is speculation that ADB may become a partner in the project.
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