Existence of a string of seaports is a major advantage for Andhra Pradesh to achieve significant growth in the maritime sector, says NITI Aayog CEO, and stresses the need for establishment of a container megaport to realise the potential

NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam met Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand on Thursday and discussed the implementation of the Purvodaya scheme and Visakhapatnam Growth Hub (VGH) project.

Mr. Subrahmanyam said that Andhra Pradesh was ahead of many other eastern States in development and there were opportunities for further growth on various fronts by availing financial assistance provided by the Centre under the Purvodaya scheme.

He pointed out that the existence of a string of seaports was a major advantage for Andhra Pradesh to achieve significant growth in the maritime sector, and stressed the need for the establishment of a container megaport to realise the potential.

Also, Mr. Subrahmanyam suggested to the Chief Secretary to prepare a report that would showcase the innovative schemes being delivered by the State Government in the upcoming Chief Secretaries' Conference. He enquired about the development of Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Tirupati growth corridors.

The NITI Aayog CEO said Purvodaya was a unique scheme launched by the Central government for the development of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar by garnering investments into major infrastructure projects.

Mr. Vijayanand said a Special Officer would be appointed in charge of the VGH project, and explained the efforts being made to take various projects forward quickly and attract investments.

Besides, the Chief Secretary requested Mr. Subrahmanyam to recommend to the Centre to sanction additional funds to the State.

NITI Aayog Additional CEO C. Partha Sarathi Reddy, AP Government Principal Secretary (Finance & Planning) Peeyush Kumar, Secretaries K. Sashidhar (Education) and V. Vinay Chand (Finance), Joint Secretary (Planning) Ananth Shankar, and AP Skill Development Corporation MD G. Ganesh Kumar took part.

NITI Aayog official and Chief Secretary discuss Purvodaya scheme, Visakhapatnam Growth Hub project