Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched projects worth over Rs 2 lakh crore in Visakhapatnam, with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan by his side.
This is Modi’s first visit to Andhra Pradesh after he became Prime Minister for a third consecutive term in June, last year. Last June also saw the Telugu Desam Party-led NDA government coming to power in Andhra Pradesh, in which the BJP and Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party are partners.
Before launching the projects on Wednesday, the Prime Minister, accompanied by Naidu and Kalyan, took out a roadshow in Visakhapatnam – from Siripuram Junction to the Andhra University grounds, where a public meeting was held during which the projects were launched.
A crowd of around 50,000 people attended the public meeting.
At the event, the PM laid the foundation for the South Coast Railway Zone, with its headquarters at Visakhapatnam; an integrated green hydrogen hub at Pudimadaka, Nakkapalli mandal, Anakapalli district; Rs 1,518-crore industrial hub at Krishnapatnam; Rs 1,877-crore bulk drug manufacturing park at Nakkapalli in Anakapalli district; and doubling of railway tracks between Guntur and Bibinagar, located in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana, and Gooty in Anantapur district and Pendukallu in Kurnool district.
The railway projects are worth Rs 19,500 crore, while the hydrogen hub is being developed in collaboration with NTPC Green Energy Limited with an investment of Rs 1.85 lakh crore.
In a statement, the PMO said laying the foundation stone for the state-of-the-art NTPC Green Energy Limited Green Hydrogen Hub Project is yet another key step towards the Prime Minister’s commitment to green energy and a sustainable future. It is the first Green Hydrogen Hub under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. The project includes investment in 20-GW renewable energy capacities, making it one of India’s largest integrated green hydrogen production facilities with a capacity of producing 1,500 TPD Green Hydrogen and 7,500 TPD Green Hydrogen derivatives including Green Methanol, Green Urea and Sustainable Aviation Fuel, primarily targeting the export market. The project will contribute substantially in achieving India’s non-fossil energy capacity target of 500 GW by 2030, officials said.
The Bulk Drug Park in Nakkapalli will create thousands of jobs while helping accelerate economic growth due to its proximity to the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and Visakhapatnam-Kakinada Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region, according to officials.
The Krishnapatnam Industrial Area (KRIS City) comes under the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor in Tirupati District of Andhra Pradesh and is a flagship project under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme. It is envisioned as a greenfield industrial smart city. The project is set to attract significant manufacturing investments of approximately Rs 10,500 crore and is also projected to create around 1 lakh direct and indirect jobs, officials said.
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