Andhra Pradesh Investor Summit Concludes With Investment Proposals Worth Rs 13 Lakh Crore 

Vishakhapatnam: After a flurry of investment summits like Invest Rajasthan, Invest Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh (UP's) Global Investor Summit etc., another summit, this time at Andhra Pradesh concluded. The summit that went with the tagline 'Abundance to Prosperity', took place on March 3 and 4, 2023 at the sprawling campus of Andhra University, situated in the picturesque city of Vizag aka Vishakhapatnam. Under the stewardship of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, the state, which is criticized for not attracting enough industries, broke its own mould and ended up attracting 354 investment proposals to the tune of Rs 13 lakh crore, leading to the job creation for over 6 lakh people. 

The summit hosted 46 diplomats and 14,000 representatives from 25 countries. Several industry stalwarts such as Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries; Karan Adani, CEO, Adani Ports and SEZ; Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals; Suchitra and Krishna Ella of Bharat Biotech etc. 

While speaking at the event, Mukesh Ambani said that Andhra Pradesh will emerge as a leading destination in India’s growth story. He even went on to announce that his company will invest Rs 40,000 crore by creating the best digital network footprint in the state. 

“Our 4G network will cover 98 per cent of Andhra Pradesh population including those who live in the remotest corner of the state,” Ambani said. Underscoring the importance of blue economy for Andhra Pradesh, he added, “The growth of the blue economy will open up new opportunities for Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh has the second largest coastline in India, it can prosper by harnessing renewable ocean energy, seabed, minerals, and marine biotechnology and so on." 

During the summit, Reliance also announced the setting up of a 10-gigawatt solar energy project in Andhra Pradesh. 

Dubbing this as the best time to invest in Andhra Pradesh, GM Rao, Chairman of GMR Group said, “This is the best time to invest and we have got real transformational leaders in center and the state of Andhra Pradesh." Talking about investment intent, Rao clarified that the company would invest Rs 5000 crore in the first phase of investment. 

While making a strong pitch to investors, CM Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the state is endowed with abundant natural resources, mineral wealth, a-974 km coastline, six airports spread across the state, out of which 3 are international airports, six operating ports and 4 are under development, three industrial corridors out of total 11 in the country. “This makes Andhra Pradesh an attractive destination for the investors,” CM Reddy added. 

Hari Mohan Bangur, Chairman, Shree Cement while speaking at the event said, “The company is looking to invest Rs 5000 crore and will create direct and indirect employment for 5000 people and will lead to a Rs 1000 crore contribution to the state exchequer annually.” 

Speaking Sectorally

During the two-day summit, out of 378 investment proposals received by the state, 117 investment proposals worth Rs 22,096 crore were made for tourism sector, leading to direct employment creation for 30,787 people. 

ITES stood as the second most preferred sector by the investors with a total of 82 investment proposals with investment worth Rs 73,819 crore , with net employment generation for 1,40,002 people. 

Third in the list was the energy sector, with 42 investment proposals; the sector attracted Rs 9, 57,139 crores, creating employment opportunities for 1, 80,918 people. As per the information, two days of MoU signing is expected to create over 6 lakh employment opportunities for people in Andhra Pradesh.