AP to Develop IT Business District in Vizag

The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (APIIC) has floated an expression of interest to develop an IT business district in about 19 acres at Hill No 3 in Madhurawada. It is envisaged to create a business hub for multinational companies, while attracting the best companies in the IT/ITeS and financial services sector to have their offices in this proposed business district. According to the proposals, it would have business towers for commercial offices and other support amenities like a star-category business hotel, facilities for MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions), etc. The project would be taken up in a public-private partnership on a joint venture basis, wherein the authority shall have a 26% stake in the special purpose vehicle created for implementation of the project. The remaining 74% stake would be taken by the private developer. The authority would transfer the land to the SPV and facilitate procurement of external infrastructure like power, water and approach road up to the boundary of the project site. The developer would be responsible for mobilising funds, development, operations and maintenance. If realised, this would be one of the first major IT investment for Vizag city, which has been waiting for the big-ticket projects for a long time. The city is seriously deprived of IT majors. Several recent proposals, including the proposed IT City in about 22 acres of land in Madhurawada by the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority, have not made any headway. The IT City proposal remained dormant for the last two years, even after it got several unique propositions with  regard to all or various components of it from about 200 companies in response to the ‘expression of interest’. The city’s aspirations to join the top tech cities’ list by attracting the global IT majors has not, unfortunately, become a reality due to various factors.