Central backing sought for slew of AP infra projects

Amaravati: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Friday held a series of meetings with key Union Ministers in New Delhi, seeking central support for major infrastructure, energy, and urban mobility projects in Andhra Pradesh, aimed at accelerating industrial growth and employment generation.

In his meeting with Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, the Chief Minister discussed central assistance for the proposed Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding cluster and the completion of four fishing harbours. Naidu expressed his gratitude to the Centre for its policy initiatives supporting port-led development as well as the shipbuilding sector and sought further measures that would strengthen the sector in alignment with the national “Chip to Ship” vision.

The Chief Minister requested the Centre’s cooperation for establishing a National Mega Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Cluster at Dugarajapatnam, stating that the State was fully prepared for the project. He informed the Union Minister that 3,488 acres of land had been identified and agreed upon, the Techno-Economic Feasibility Report completed. Besides, plans were in place to develop a comprehensive ecosystem with ancillary MSME units and common infrastructure. Emphasising that the project had priority status under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Naidu sought its early approval, apart from central assistance.

Regarding fishing harbours, the Chief Minister said four projects, envisaged at Juvvaladinne, Nizampatnam, Machilipatnam and Uppada, were taken up in Phase-I at a cost of Rs 1,361.49 crore to improve local fishermen’s livelihood options. While the State has already spent Rs 782.29 crore on them, central assistance of only Rs 138.29 crore has been released so far, and that too, limited to Juvvaladinne. He sought Rs 440.91 crore to complete Phase-I and an additional Rs 150 crore under the Sagarmala scheme for the Vodarevu fishing harbour, stating that total central assistance of Rs 590.91 crore was required.

Naidu Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar also and sought approval for the Metro Rail projects in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. He said revised Detailed Project Reports had been submitted and underlined the need for Metro systems to address urban congestion and support future growth.

During discussions with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, the Chief Minister invited him to attend the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the BPCL greenfield refinery in Nellore district -- a Rs 96,862-crore project for which 6,000 acres of land has already been allotted. He sought facilitation of investments in natural gas and LNG sectors, expansion of pipelines and city gas networks, development of LNG terminals, and inclusion of 65.40 lakh LPG connections under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to enable beneficiaries to receive subsidies.

The Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh was ready to partner with the Centre in advancing national energy and infrastructure goals.