Andhra Pradesh Magazine English May 2016 | Page 19

ADB ready to
Advance rs 3,500 cr
for Industrial
corridor

T

he Asian Development Bank has come
forward to extend a loan of 3,500
crore for Visakhapatnam - Chennai industrial corridor.

A delegation from the ADB which met Chief
Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at his office
in Vijayawada assured him that the project
would get off sooner and it would be completed in time. The delegation urged the
chief minister to constitute a project management unit to ensure coordination among
various departments for the execution of
the project.
ADB country director M Teresa Kho
explained to the Chief Minister the
measures it had taken while extending loan
for the project. The director evinced
interest in advancing loans in the area of
rural raods, drinking water, interlinking of
ports, transportation, power and urban
planning.
The Chief Minister asked the delegation to
employ the best practices it had been following in other countries in Andhra
Pradesh too. Referring to how Sri City has
become a success, he said he hoped to see
the Visakhapatnam Chennai
corridor
flourish with industries.
The Chief Minister apprised the team that
the Economic Development Board was
studying the sectors where investments
were possible and was in the process of
making a report.
Responding to this, the delegation said that
the ADB would fund the companies which
show interest in investing in these sectors.
Those who took part in the meeting included Energy Principal Secretary Ajay Jain,
CM’s principal secretary Sai Prasad, Economic Development Board CEO J Krishna
Kishore.
MAY 2016

v

AjAy Devgn and kAjol

to be brand ambassadors of AP

B

ollywood actor-couple Ajay
Devgn and Kajol will be the
brand ambassadors of
Andhra Pradesh tourism as
the state attempts to appeal to a
broader pan-India audience in its
bid to become the country’s most
preferred tourist destination.
Andhra Pradesh, home to sandy
beaches and religious hotspots
such as Tirumala, Puttaparthi and
Amaravathi, is trying to promote
tourism to generate additional income. The state has the country’s
only submarine museum in
Visakhapatnam.
The state government also plans to
convert aircraft carrier INS Viraat
into a 500-room hotel or resort
after it is decommissioned from
service later this year.
The Chandrababu Naidu government is encouraging five star resorts along its coast, mainly in the
scenic city of Visakhapatnam. Last
month, Essel Group executives
evinced interest in developing an
island for tourism purposes and in
constructing a multi-storeyed centre for “fun and recreational purposes”.
About 121.8 million tourists visited
Andhra Pradesh in 2015, a 30% increase over the previous year, according to the state government. Of
ANDHRAPRADESHMAGAZINE.ORG

these, 237,000 were foreign
tourists mainly from Southeast
Asian countries such as Singapore,
Malaysia and West Asia.
Bollywood actors have been active
tourism brand ambassadors of different states and countries.
Amitabh Bachchan was the brand
ambassador of Gujarat tourism,
while Akshay Kumar of Canada.
Aamir Khan was the face of Indian
tourism. Bachchan and Priyanka
Chopra are the new mascots of Incredible India tourism campaign.
Devgn’s appointment as the
tourism brand ambassador of
Andhra Pradesh comes despite a
thriving Telugu film industry, the
home base of stars such as Chiranjeevi, Prabhas and Mahesh Babu.
Devgn offered to don the mantle of
brand ambassador at a meeting
with Chief Minister Naidu in Vijayawada. A government statement
said Naidu immediately agreed.
Devgn also proposed to build an
entertainment and media city in
the state’s upcoming capital Amaravati. The actor and his team made
a power point presentation to the
chief minister about the project.
The actor also expressed his willingness to build a virtual technology studio in the state.

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