Capital planning is at advanced stage: CM

Singapore, March 30: In a business meeting with industrialists, Teo Eng Chong, CEO of IE Singapore delivered the welcome address. In his address, Mr. Chong highlighted the opportunities for Singapore companies in Andhra Pradesh.

He told the delegates that Andhra Pradesh is going to build a new capital city for which it has take the support of Singapore government.

Following Mr Chong's address, Iswaran gave his opening remarks saying Singapore has the opportunity to build a world-class capital city for the new State of Andhra Pradesh. 'We are quite impressed with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his team's energy.'

The Chief Minister who made a presentation to delegates said that he admires Singaporeans for their work ethic. Remembering Mr. Lee, the Chief Miniser said: 'I have been an admirer of Lee. Paying tributes to Mr. Lee, Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly has moved a condolence motion,' he said.

As promised to the people of my state, I'm committed to give them a world-class capital city on lines of Singapore, the Chief Minister added.

On Singapore-India's trade relations, the Chief Miniser said that trade between Indian and Singapore has been increasing steadily, reaching a record of US $19.4 billion in 2013-14 as compared to US $2003-04. 'Singapore is India's largest trading partner in ASEAN and one of the largest sources of foreign investment globally,' he added.

Given that Singapore is one of the most preferred financial hubs for many Indian corporate houses, we have about 600 Indian companies operating in Singapore and some 6,000 companies are registered with Singapore, making it the largest business community in the country, the Chief Minister said.

Highlighting potential sectors for investment between AP and Singapore, the Chief Minister said infrastructure, Ports & Shipping, Telecommunications, Smart Cities, Transportation, Water Management and Urban Planning are some of the areas of collaboration.

Stating that the capital city planning is at the advanced stage, the Chief Minister said that the detailed plan will be out by June 2015. He assured investors that ease of doing business, mega infrastructure projects, targeted policies and transparent governance will be AP's highlights.

The Chief Minister added that Vijayawada could be business and trading hub while, Nandigama a pharma hub, Gannavaram as a value-added economic hub and Amaravathi could emerge as a tourism hub.

He added that AP is following a Mission-based approach for tourism development in the state. This is supported by industry-friendly Tourism Policy for incentivising investments in tourism with hassle-free entry operations through a Single-Desk Approach and clearance within 21 days.

Giving his concluding remarks, the Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh offers a plethora of opportunities to Singapore companies. 'Come and experience Andhra Pradesh,' the Chief Minister said.