X Development Centre, LLC, formerly known as Google X, coming to Visakhapatnam augurs well for the city, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said. Comparing it to Microsoft setting up its centre in Hyderabad, he said: “It’s a flagship company and a breakthrough for Visakhapatnam.”
He congratulated IT Minister N. Lokesh on his efforts stating he had been sent to sign a different MoU but he clinched the Google pact too. “A number of other MNCs and IT companies will follow suit. With Fintech and Blockchain technologies also contributing, it will usher in knowledge economy and help in the city emerging as financial capital of the State,” he said here after launching heli-tourism at the VUDA Park.
VUDA is operating the heli-tourism in association with APTDC and the public sector Pawan Hans Limited.
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said foundation would be laid to the convention centre in the city after the partnership summit in February. He had seen the development made by LuLu group in Kochi where it was receiving 80,000 footfalls a day.
Helicopter tourism would help more people visit Araku and Lammasingi and would also stand in good stead in times of emergencies for health reasons. Stressing the importance of transportation for tourism, he said sea-planes would give a further fillip as even 300 meters of kachha or gravel runway could be used for landing and far-flung areas could be reached.
The tourism potential of Visakhapatnam remains to be tapped fully and all efforts were being made in that direction, he said. With peaceful atmosphere and good-natured people, Visakhapatnam was congenial for promotion of tourism.
In a brief interaction with the media, he said he would write to the Centre on the DCI privatisation issue. He asserted that serious efforts would be made for the railway zone for Visakhapatnam. “We would press for it until it was declared,” he said.
