Integrated textile park at Kopparthi on anvil

Tirupati: Industries minister Gudivada Amarnath reiterated the government's commitment to support the budding entrepreneurs and for the development of the industrial sector in the state. Addressing the southern regional council meeting of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) held at a private hotel here on Friday, the minister said that the state government will follow the suggestions of the 'wealth creators' who are running the state's economy.

He said that the state has been ranked No.1 in EODB (Ease of Doing Business) for the second consecutive time. This ranking is a testimony to the government's commitment to enable smooth running of any business in the state.

The minister recalled that the government had cleared the pending dues accrued since last government to MSMEs and the policies launched by it for industries, IT, MSME, etc., which are all business friendly and added that the government was ready for amendments as and when the industry demands.

The state has set up AP Green Energy Corporation with a mandate to install 8,000 MW to 10,000 MW of dedicated solar power capacity. The government has started works related to building a greenfield sea port at Ramayapatnam to meet the ever increasing cargo demand at an estimated cost for Rs.3,736 crore (US $ 530 million) for phase-1. The government intends to develop required business infrastructure in all district headquarters, so that every district can become a hub by itself, he said.

Amarnath said an 'Advanced Scientific Research Centre' has been set up by a joint venture floated by Andhra University and Visakha Pharmacity. It is a first-of-its-kind in India in which a state university is floating a joint venture with a pharma company for which the MoU was signed on July 20. He added that they understand the significance of the institute-industry interaction for improving this sector.

To promote investment in the industry, Andhra Pradesh Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) is being set up between Kakinada-Visakhapatnam coastal regions. The minister said that they had proposed to the Centre to set up an integrated textile park in YSR Jagananna Mega Industrial Hub at Kopparthi in YSR district.

More than 60 delegates from southern states, including Bharat Biotech joint managing director Suchitra K Ella, Kamal Bali of Volvo group, Sriram Subramanyam of Integra Software, L Venkata Madhav of Amara Raja electronics, V Rajanna of TCS Ltd and several other industrialists took part in the meeting.