AP Clears Rs 22,177 Crore Investment Proposals, 19,739 Jobs in Offing

Andhra Pradesh is set to attract Rs 22,177.84 crore in fresh investments after the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) approved 28 industrial proposals across energy, IT, communications, food processing, manufacturing and tourism sectors.

The decisions were taken at the 21st SIPB meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday. The approved projects are expected to generate 19,739 employment opportunities, according to the state government.

A key focus of the meeting was developing a comprehensive industrial ecosystem around Andhra Pradesh's ports. Naidu directed officials to make better use of the state's long coastline by promoting logistics, shipbuilding, warehousing, manufacturing and ancillary industries around ports. He also called for seamless integration of ports, railways, roads, air cargo and inland waterways to position Andhra Pradesh as a major logistics hub.

The Chief Minister stressed the need to upgrade fishing harbours and expand shipbuilding facilities, including the manufacture of vessels for the defence and tourism sectors, apart from cargo ships.

Naidu also called for Andhra Pradesh to emerge as a leading hardware manufacturing hub. Officials were directed to attract investments in semiconductors, chip manufacturing and robotics and strengthen infrastructure at electronics hubs in Kopparthi, Tirupati and Lepakshi. He emphasised creating a complete ecosystem covering research, design and manufacturing, while accelerating investments in quantum technology and high-performance computing.

The meeting also reviewed export performance. Naidu said Tirupati, with support from Sri City, ranks 10th nationally among districts in exports, while East Godavari stands 12th. He asked officials to work towards taking East Godavari into the national top five. IT Minister Nara Lokesh said discussions were continuing with Taiwan to strengthen the state's IT and hardware ecosystem.

Ten IT and quantum technology projects approved at the meeting involve Rs 526.25 crore and are expected to create 8,896 jobs. Muthoot FinCorp will invest Rs 100 crore in an AI and technology training centre in Visakhapatnam, while Deloitte will set up a 2,500-seat operations centre with an investment of Rs 44 crore.

In Amaravati, Quantum Codon Pvt Ltd will invest Rs 167 crore in a quantum AI-based biotechnology innovation campus focused on drug-discovery research, creating 126 jobs.

The government said the new investments would strengthen Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and Kadapa as emerging centres for AI, quantum computing, photonics and advanced technology, while expanding opportunities for skilled employment.