AP attracts Rs 5,242-cr investment in tourism, hospitality

Hotel sector alone accounts for MoUs worth Rs 3,764 cr

The Andhra Pradesh government signed 27 memoranda of understanding worth Rs 5,242 crore investments in tourism and hospitality sectors on the closing day of the CII Partnership Summit on Tuesday.

The announcement was made during the Confederation of Indian Industry Partnership Summit here on Tuesday. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for investments was signed between the consortium of GCL and Essel Group and the Andhra Pradesh government in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, GCL Group vice-chairman Shu Hua, and Essel Group’s chairman Subhash Chandra, the company said.

The integrated solar energy equipment manufacturing facilities entail a total investment of $2 billion and would generate about 15,000 skilled jobs. Through this manufacturing base, GCL and Essel intend to cater to both domestic and foreign markets.

The firms will also explore the possibility of setting up a Smart Industrial Park, which will attract investments to the tune of $9 billion in Andhra Pradesh through setting up multiple manufacturing facilities by Indian and Chinese companies. The smart industrial township is proposed to be set up on 10,000 acres of land. It would house 200 industries, said Chandra.

“So far, we have been only in the services sector - be it media or leisure sector. Inspired by the ‘Make in India’ call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I have decided to start a silicon-to-solar panel project,” said Chandra at the valedictory function of the Partnership Summit.

Terming Naidu a ‘friend for the past 25 years’, the Essel Group chairman said he decided to set up these two projects after seeing the former’s initiatives in Andhra Pradesh.