Andhra Pradesh eyes $1 trillion investments in five years, job creation priority: Nara Lokesh

“I had done a padyatra of 3,000 km. I met a woman named Mohana who had been making bhajji for 30 years. She said all she wanted was jobs for her children. Everywhere I went, the demand was opportunity to work,” Lokesh said. “Our first manifesto promise was to create five lakh jobs. This is the biggest employment mission in India.”

He said the government aims to create two million jobs in the next five years and has already created over two lakh in the past 16 months while attracting $120 billion in investments. “These are not symbolic MoUs. They represent real, on-ground projects that are creating employment and transforming regional economies,” he added.

The two-day CII Partnership Summit, scheduled for November 14–15 in Visakhapatnam, will see 410 investment agreements worth $120 billion being formalised. The projects are expected to generate about 7.5 lakh employment opportunities. Groundbreaking ceremonies for projects worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore will also take place during the summit, which will host 464 delegates from 62 countries.

Lokesh highlighted marquee investments that underline growing investor confidence — including ArcelorMittal’s steel plant in Visakhapatnam, Google’s Data City project (its largest FDI in India), BPCL’s Rs 1 lakh crore refinery, and NTPC’s Rs 1.65 lakh crore green hydrogen hub. “Five of India’s top ten solar manufacturing companies have chosen Andhra Pradesh as their base,” he said.

He attributed the investment momentum to what he called Andhra Pradesh’s “Speed of Doing Business” model. “In today’s economy, agility is everything. Even a month’s delay can alter an entire investment plan. Our branding is speed. Come to Andhra and we’ll give you land in six days,” Lokesh said. “Early-bird companies will also get better incentives because they will have a catalytic impact on investments.”

Lokesh said the state’s regulatory reforms have been focused on creating an enabling environment for investors. “We are bringing labour reforms. We are automating permissions to ensure ease and predictability for businesses,” he said.

Andhra Pradesh, one of the first states to recognise tourism as an industry, plans to add 50,000 hotel rooms in the next three years. “Across sectors — from renewable energy and steel to IT and tourism — the investment quantum is increasing rapidly,” he said.

Explaining why Andhra Pradesh is emerging as a preferred investment destination, Lokesh said the state’s appeal lies in its “speed, regulatory efficiency, and leadership with a proven track record”. He described the Naidu government as a “double-engine bullet-train sarkar”, quipping that “NaMo stands for Naidu and Modi”.

Aligned with the Centre’s Viksit Bharat vision, Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh aims to become a USD 2.4 trillion economy by 2047. “When states compete, India wins,” he said, adding that the government is developing industrial clusters where even small groups of farmers can come together to establish industrial parks.

He said Andhra Pradesh is open to investments from all countries, including China, with South Korea already emerging as a significant partner. “A crisis is an opportunity — we are opening new markets. South Asia’s largest quantum computing facility is coming up in Andhra,” he said in reply to a question on disrupting impact of US tariffs.

Lokesh also said Chief Minister Naidu has proposed an AI-based skill census for India. “We need a skill census to understand our workforce potential in this new era of technology,” he said.