Several big-ticket projects for which agreements have been inked and those that have hit a roadblock for a variety of reasons will be confined to paper for the time being due to enforcement of the model code of conduct.
The State Government had signed MoUs just before the code came into effect for establishment of two float glass manufacturing units at an investment of ₹2,200 crore by Gold Plus Industries, a unit by Saint Gobain in Visakhapatnam at a cost of ₹2,000 crore, an electronics park in an area of 1,000 acres and an MSME park in all l75 assembly segments.
For the Adani Data Park in Visakhapatnam district, which was to come up at a huge investment of ₹70,000 crore, the government had promised allotment of 500 acres in three areas.
Though the stone was laid for the park just before the model code came into effect at Kapuluppada in an area of 200 acres, the allotment of two more parcels measuring 300 acres near the city will not materialise till the formation of the next government after the assembly elections.
Pending projects
Two more projects for which MoUs were inked long ago — a shipbuilding facility by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group at a cost of ₹5,000 crore at Rambilli, and a development centre by X Development LLC (formerly Google X) in Visakhapatnam, the first centre of the company to be located outside the US — have not made any progress. A final call on concessions sought by the companies would be taken only after the elections.
UAE-based LuLu Group, which was given prime land on the beachfront for development of a 7,000-seater international convention centre, seven-screen mall and a five-star hotel at a cost of ₹2,200 crore, has not started work on the project for over a year.
Sources said it is yet to sign a concession agreement with the government.
AP Economic Development Board CEO J. Krishna Kishore said that they had realised 50% of MoUs signed by them with a commitment for investment of ₹2.47 lakh crore.