Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday announced plans to establish a Creative City in Amaravati to promote emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence, film production and digital content creation, while also proposing an Electronics City near Hindupur.
These, he said, are part of the government’s efforts to attract large-scale investments to Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing the second day of the sixth district collectors’ conference, the chief minister reviewed the performance of the industries and tourism departments. He stressed that attracting investments should not remain the sole responsibility of specific departments. District collectors, he said, must also take an active role in identifying and bringing investors to their regions.
Naidu directed collectors to organise district-level investment meetings and adopt a “3C formula — commitment, convincing investors and complete cooperation” to facilitate new projects. He emphasised that investments would create employment opportunities for local youth and raise per capita incomes.
The CM said the government is developing Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati as economic regions. Industries secretary Yuvaraj would oversee the Visakhapatnam region, municipal administration principal secretary Suresh Kumar would supervise Amaravati, and Mukesh Kumar Meena would coordinate development in the Tirupati region.
Officials would be responsible for attracting industries, facilitating investments and accelerating economic growth in their respective regions.
Naidu asked collectors to ensure that approved projects are grounded quickly by expediting clearances, land allotments and essential infrastructure such as water supply to industries. Referring to industrial clusters at Orvakal in Kurnool district and Kopparthi in Kadapa, Naidu said these areas should evolve into major industrial hubs in the coming years.
Calling for greater initiative from officials, Naidu said the government would introduce district-wise rankings under a “Speed of Doing Business” framework. He criticised the previous government saying it failed to attract investments between 2019 and 2024 and alleged that industrial lands allocated earlier were diverted for other purposes.
Highlighting tourism as another key growth engine, the chief minister said Andhra Pradesh has immense potential in the hospitality sector and that tourism has been granted industry status. He stressed the need to develop historical sites, pilgrimage centres and natural attractions across the state.
Naidu said the state aims to create 50,000 hotel rooms, promote homestays, and build convention and MICE centres to strengthen tourism infrastructure. Destinations such as Papikondalu, Gandikota — often called India’s Grand Canyon — and Suryalanka, which he said could emerge as “another Goa”, will be developed as major attractions.
Naidu also proposed improving tourism infrastructure at Thimmamma Marrimanu, developing projects at Pulicat Lake, and promoting Kambham Cheruvu, one of Asia’s largest man-made water reservoirs. Way-side amenities, EV charging stations and night halt facilities along national highways would also be encouraged to attract investment.
In addition, he suggested developing Disneyland and Bhavani Island in Vijayawada as tourism destinations while positioning Amaravati as a hub for the creative economy.
Ministers, senior officials from various departments and district collectors attended the meeting.
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