All MoUs signed at CII Summit were with ‘serious investors’: CM

Calling 2019-24 as a bad period for the State when the atmosphere for investments was not conducive and many industries either shut down or shifted to other States, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said the coalition government has now created an ecosystem built confidence among entrepreneurs. 

More important, the government entered into agreements only with those who were serious about their ventures, and ensured that the investments were scattered across Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati regions in order to facilitate balanced development, he said during a press conference organised after the culmination of the two-day 30th CII Partnership Summit here. 

Pegging the investments mobilised in the CII Partnership Summit at ₹13,25,617 crore, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu noted that those who came forward to work for the development of A.P. included the Government of Singapore. It, however, was not involving itself in the construction of Amaravati but offered help to transform A.P. into a knowledge economy. 

He said globally reputable companies like Google preferred A.P. over other States to set up its huge data centre in Visakhapatnam as it was impressed by the steps taken by the A.P. government to create the backend infrastructure. 

As for the Google data centre, he said the project has slowed down a bit owing to certain minor issues to be sorted out by the developers. Otherwise, it was well on its course to become a reality. 

Replying to a question, Mr. Naidu said he would always encourage competitive federalism as it was good for the people, and that the States that appeared to be peeved with the achievements of A.P. were obviously feeling the heat.

Indicating the seriousness with which the A.P. government was roping in investors, the CM said he would give sovereign guarantees to those putting in their money to give them a sense of protection. 

It has been resolved to materialise the investments in three years by developing the infrastructure as an enabler. Execution timelines have been clearly laid down. 

Responding to a question on how he plans to create infrastructure to support such a huge investment, if realised, Mr. Naidu said that the State already has created basic infrastructure to facilitate investment. “The investments flow would revive the economy. We earn GST for the State and a substantial part of it will be used for industrial incentives and infrastructure creation. We also earn GST through massive employment and the additional money flow will contribute to better infrastructure and general wellbeing of the State.

Further, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said after building infrastructure along its coast, A.P. was moving towards creating the logistics from the east to west i.e. towards the western States and some parts of central India. 

Regarding the issue of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), the CM said there was no better proof of the commitment of the Union and the State governments to save it than the revival package that had been announced and certain things done by the State to ease the financial burden entailed by various dues. 

In the same vein, he said it was imperative that all efforts should be put in to make the plant efficient and insisted that the VSP should give up the thought of entirely depending on the State government for its survival.