AP govt to identify land for mfg zone

The Andhra Pradesh government is trying to identify suitable land for setting up the first manufacturing and investment zone in south India, according to chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

“Our idea is to identify a suitable site that would benefit all the three regions (Andhra, Telangana and Rayalaseema) in the state. A team of higher officials will visit New Delhi next week to discuss the state’s proposal in detail,” he told the industry captains from the south states during an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Thursday.

On the measures being taken to tide over the prevailing power crisis in the state, Reddy said that his government had asked the public sector gas transmission and marketing company, Gail Limited, to supply gas on a long-term basis ... for at least two years to enable the power-starved state to generate 1,000 Mw.

 

Gail has already agreed to supply 2.5 million metric standard cubic metre per day of re-gassified liquefied natural gas to the state to generate 500 Mw.

“Awards and accolades, including the Harvard Business School's ‘Investment-driven economies award’ in India’s Most Competitive States Awards 2012 initiative, mean nothing without power stability,” the chief minister said.

Stating that the state was currently witnessing a power shortage of 35 million units every day and that the power consumption had increased 15 per cent from last year, Reddy said, “the power woes will be eased, probably in 10 days from now, once the long-term deal with Gail is tied up.”

Responding positively to the CII's recommendations to come out with a state-level manufacturing competitiveness council and a renewable energy policy, the chief minister said that Hyderabad will hold the 11th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity this October, in which over 8,000 delegates from 194 countries will participate.

According to Sanjay Reddy, chairman, CII southern region, the industry body was planning to organise ‘Festival of South India’ this year with an aim to integrate the art, culture and history of south. “With the best infrastructure that it has, Hyderabad certainly will be a welcome place, and we expect around 200,000 visitors in the first year,” he said.