Vishakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the Government is taking steps for the rapid growth of industrial development with 98 industries being set up in the State in the last three years. . Industrialists like Adani and Ambani are now looking towards Andhra Pradesh.

The State achieved the industrial growth with an investment of Rs 39,350 crore, he said. YS Jagan commissioned ATC Tires’ at Atchutapuram SEZ with an estimation cost Rs 1,250 crore in Anakapalle district on Tuesday.

Speaking at the occasion he pointed out that AP has retained number one rank in the Ease of Doing Business index for the last three years despite stiff competition and regulations. Rankings are given based on the industrialists’ feedback. This was not the case earlier, adding that his proactive Government is just a phone call away to address any issues face by industries, he said.

He further announced that the construction of Adani Data Centre will begin next month in Vizag.  ATC Tires, part of Yokohama Group, commenced production in a record time of just 15 months, Jagan said. The second phase expansion of the plant, which began on Tuesday, will be completed by August 2023 and a total of 2K jobs would be created.

Century Plywood, Sree Cements and Aditya Birla Group are also setting up plants in the State. A total of 56 major industries will come up in Andhra Pradesh in the next two years with 1.54 crore investment, creating 1.64 lakh employment opportunities, he said. There are over one lakh units in the MSME sector with 10 lakh employees. After YSRCP came to power, we not only cleared old incentives to MSMEs but also disbursed Rs 1,463 crore in three years as part of hand-holding, Jagan said.

The State registered 11.3% GDP against the national average of 8.3%, he pointed out. On infrastructure development, the Government is constructing four more ports in addition to the existing six. Besides new ports, nine fishing harbours are also being constructed. Exports from the State stood at $19.3 billion, accounting for 4.8% of the country’s total exports, he said. Once new ports are ready, exports from AP will go up to 10%.

Jagan said that Andhra Pradesh is the only State with three industrial corridors. Consul General of Japan Masayuki Taga said there are two Japanese firms in Visakhapatnam and the tyre plant is the third one. CM laid foundation stones for eight companies and commissioned some companies Pidilite Industries, Megha Fruit Processing Unit, Inox Air Products Private Limited, Optimus Drugs Private Ltd and Win- Win Specialty Insulators Limited.