Cites 7 districts to be part of Vizag Economic Region
Addressing a review meeting on Friday with NITI Aayog officials at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister Mr N Chandrababu Naidu came out with a bold and ambitious vision for the development of the Visakhapatnam Economic Region.
In the meeting Mr Naidu directed officials to develop the ‘Visakha Economic Region’ as the growth engine of Andhra Pradesh, aiming for a $120 billion economy from this region by 2032.
He highlighted the need to transform Visakhapatnam into another Mumbai in the next seven years. The Economic Region includes eight districts—Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, ASR, and Manyam—and the Chief Minister instructed officials to develop projects that will boost economic activity across this 8-district zone.
He also ordered the identification of one lakh acres for various projects. The Visakha Region spans 36,000 square kilometers and is home to a population of 15.5 million. Its current GDP as per the government is around $49 billion.
The Chief Minister noted that the region could generate 20 to 24 lakh jobs by 2032, making it crucial to the state’s future growth.
Growth Drivers Identified
He proposed development centered around 6 ports, 7 manufacturing nodes, 17 major agricultural zones, 6 service hubs, and 12 tourism hubs.
NITI Aayog officials presented a detailed PowerPoint presentation wherein they outlined plans around seven growth drivers: ports, IT, agriculture, tourism, healthcare, urban development, and infrastructure. A total of 41 key projects are to be prioritized for implementation.
Ramping Up Infrastructure
If these plans are realised within the next seven years, the region could well see the construction of 7.5 lakh housing units, 10,000 hotel rooms, up to 20 innovation centers, 10 colleges, 7,000 hospital beds, industrial development across 20,000 hectares, 80 million sq. ft. of office space, and 60 million sq. ft. of warehousing capacity.
Coastal Corridor as a Wealth Generator
“We will develop beach roads from Mulapeta to Visakhapatnam and Visakhapatnam to Kakinada. These will be connected to national highways. The coast is a treasure trove—we must leverage it fully.
Tourism is being treated as an industry, and our new policy is very investor-friendly. With future needs in mind, we will ensure continuous skill training for youth. We’re adopting ‘Work from Home’ and Knowledge Economy outsourcing models. The goal is to provide work-from-home opportunities to 20 lakh people,” said CM Naidu.
Other Issues Discussed in the Review
Developing Visakhapatnam as a steel hub in collaboration with the country’s top 3 steel firms; focus on petrochemicals, gas grid, port development, petrochem-medical tech, shipbuilding, defense, electronics, clean tech, and labor-intensive manufacturing.
A Target of creating 4–5 lakh jobs in the IT sector over the next 7 years was talked upon.
Similarly, emphasis on setting up data centers, startups, and innovation hubs, in addition to four ongoing railway projects, seven new railway projects to be completed by 2032
Also launching nine new road projects to support manufacturing nodes and ports and discussion on the Vizag Metro project, covering 77 km, scheduled between 2028 and 2030 was informed.
AP’s Power Reforms a National Model
“With advances in technology, we’ve made remarkable strides. We’re now implementing new policies where people can become both producers and consumers of power. If individuals generate their own electricity, distribution losses can be eliminated. EV adoption will drastically reduce transportation costs.
We’re focusing on solar, wind, pumped hydro, battery storage, and green hydrogen. Andhra Pradesh has abundant resources to support this vision. I seek NITI Aayog’s support to realize it,” said the Chief Minister.
Enhancing Power Generation
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Government of Andhra Pradesh, NITI Aayog, and the ISEG Foundation in the presence of the Chief Minister for the State Energy Transition Roadmap.
The current installed power generation capacity in the state is 27.3 GW.
Electricity demand in the state increased from 55.6 BU in 2019 to 69.7 BU in 2025. Industrial demand grew by 4.8% and household demand by 5.1%.
Power demand is projected to rise from 88.6 BU next year to 163.9 BU by 2035.
Under the AP Integrated Clean Energy Policy, the 2029 targets include: 78.50 GW solar, 35 GW wind, 22 GW pumped storage, 1.50 MMTPA green hydrogen, 25 GW battery storage, 1,500 KLPD ethanol, 5,000 EV charging stations, and 10,000 TPD bio-CNG/CBG.
The state has already attracted Rs 5.78 lakh crore investments in clean energy, enabling 57.7 GW of power generation.
The meeting was attended by Minister Mr Gottipati Ravikumar, NITI Aayog CEO Mr B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary Vijay Anand, representatives of the ISEG Foundation, and other senior officials.
