Addressing NRIs and PIOs at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Gujarat, the AP CM welcomed them to adopt one village each in the state.
Addressing Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Gujarat on Friday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu welcomed them to adopt one village each as part of the AP government's flagship "smart village" program.
Stating that NRIs served as bridges by providing access to markets, sources of investment, expertise, knowledge and technology, he said that AP was fortunate to have a very high number of NRIs, and they could be part of the state's development process.
The Chief Minister said that the state would attract $20-30 billion in investment over the next decade, and had a massive potential for PPP investments. It offered a large bouquet of opportunities for investments in the infrastructure sector.
"We will build the best ports, airports and cities. We also have plans to develop the world's largest ring road - 180 km long, at $5 billion," he said.
He also stated that the single-desk system would prove a boon for industries.
"To give an impetus to various sectors, we are also bringing out a port policy, a textile policy and an agro-processing policy," he said.
The Chief Minister also explained that Andhra Pradesh was ideally poised for river-linking because of the abundant water from the Godavari, Krishna, Penna and Vamsadhara. "We will drought-proof the state in 5 years," he claimed.
With a land bank of 400,000 hectares, a world-class capital city that Singapore and Japan were helping build, 24x7 power and 20 Mbps for every house, the state would stand head and shoulders above its peers, he said.
By 2022, his aim was to make Andhra Pradesh one of the top three states in India, he averred. (INN)