Naidu directs master plans for three economic regions

Vijayawada: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday directed officials to prepare master plans for the Amaravati Economic Region (AER) and Tirupati Economic Region (TER) within six months and finalise them only after obtaining feedback from the public and elected representatives.Reviewing the progress of the Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati economic regions at the secretariat, Naidu said balanced development could be achieved only through optimal utilisation of regional resources. He instructed officials to prepare district economic profiles within two months and identify sector-specific growth opportunities in each district.The chief minister said Rayalaseema should be developed as a global horticulture hub, citing Lingala mandal in Kadapa district as a model.

He noted that per capita income in the mandal reached ₹7.3 lakh due to large-scale cultivation of horticulture crops and asked officials to replicate similar growth across the region. He said horticulture would be a key growth engine for the Tirupati Economic Region and called for greater focus on food processing industries to generate employment and improve incomes.Naidu reviewed plans for the proposed Vizag Bay City project spread over 51.88 sq km in the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER).

He said the project should be developed around coastal tourism, business and innovation ecosystems, and global talent attraction. Officials informed him that 3,291 acres of govt land had been identified for the project. They also said 49 projects had been proposed in the Visakhapatnam Economic Region, including 18 that have already been grounded, while another 12 are expected to commence shortly.The chief minister asked officials to accelerate efforts to attract hotels, IT projects and an international convention centre to Visakhapatnam.

He also called for the development of an Araku-Paderu-Visakhapatnam tourism circuit and expansion of beachfront tourism infrastructure, including preparation of a master plan for Suryalanka beach.Officials informed the chief minister that the Amaravati Economic Region, comprising nine districts, accounts for 32% of the state’s population and 33 percent of its geographical area. Naidu directed officials to leverage sectors such as aquaculture, palm oil, cocoa and Kolleru Lake-based activities to drive growth in the region.On the Tirupati Economic Region, Naidu said it should emerge as a growth centre on a par with Visakhapatnam and Amaravati by leveraging its strengths in horticulture, mining, tourism, spiritual destinations, manufacturing and education. Officials said the region has been assigned a target of contributing $0.90 trillion towards Andhra Pradesh’s goal of becoming a $2.4-trillion economy by 2047.