Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday met several Union Ministers in New Delhi and discussed issues related to the state.
On the second day of his visit to the national capital, he met Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Commerce & Industries Piyush Goyal, Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H. D. Kumaraswamy and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri.
During the meeting with Gadkari, he discussed the overall development of national and state Highways in the state.
They discussed various projects to be taken up on priority and these include the development of Vijayawada Eastern Bypass, support for the development of State Highways through Government of India grants, fast-tracking of the Kuppam-Hosur Greenfield Project and ensuring completion within the stipulated time frame, development of the Mulapeta to Vizag greenfield coastal highway project, resolving the restrictions on the road to Bhogapuram Airport, and addressing the choke points by building elevated structures integrating Flyover and Metro, upgrading the Hyderabad-Vijayawada expressway from four to eight lanes to address high traffic and reduce accidents, development of greenfield express highway from Hyderabad to Amaravati and development of Outer Ring Road (ORR) for the capital region of Amaravati.
The Union Minister assured his commitment to fast-track these projects, ensuring sustainable development, and boosting Andhra Pradesh’s connectivity and economic growth.
The Chief Minister and Piyush Goyal discussed a joint committee of GoAP, DPIIT and the Ministry of Shipping to expedite salt land transfer for the development of projects in a defined timeframe.
They also discussed expediting works for development of Industrial parks by NICDIT and the development of industrial policy and sectoral policies to attract investment.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the Minister of Commerce and Industries assured of considering the discussed issues and supporting the state in fulfilling its vision.
Chandrababu Naidu and Kumaraswamy discussed the growth of the steel sector in Andhra Pradesh. Secretary Steel appraised about the challenges faced by RINL (Visakhapatnam Steel Plant) in terms of availability of raw materials, loan repayment and, further, there is a need to invest in Capex for effective capacity utilisation.
The Union Minister mentioned the efforts being made by the Union government to sustain RINL through funds infusion.
The Chief Minister requested that the Centre identify ways to support RINL and ensure its sustainability of operations and effective capacity utilisation.
Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries assured his commitment to consider the revival of RINL and supporting the industrial landscape in Andhra Pradesh.
During the meeting, Hardeep Singh Puri, the two leaders discussed the sanctioning of 65 lakhs Deepam connection under PM Ujjwala Yojana and expediting the grounding of BPCL Refinery in the state.
The Union Minister assured his commitment to consider the request of the state government and provide appropriate support.