Asian Development bank releases fund for Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial corridor

The development of three Industrial clusters in Southern Andhra Pradesh bordering Tamil Nadu will receive a boost when the Asian Development bank providing a loan assistance of 141.12 million US dollars to support the internal infrastructure in these clusters which are part of the Visakhapatnam Chennai Industrial corridor.

The Industrial corridor project exclusively meant for the development of Andhra Pradesh was conceived way back in 2012 but has made tardy progress like all other Industrial corridor projects in the south including the Chennai Bengaluru Industrial corridor. These corridors have no railway component.  The Chennai Kanyakumari industrial corridor conceived in 2012 is yet to secure the clearance from the Commerce Ministry.

Meanwhile the Railways have given undivided attention to the Mumbai Delhi and Ludhiana Kolkata dedicated freight corridors. Both the projects were given massive push by the Prime Minister’s office during the last nine years and they are about to be commissioned. Japan Industrial bank and World Bank have funded this project costing nearly Rs three lakh crores.

ADB’s financing represents the second tranche of a multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) totaling 500 million US dollars, which was approved by ADB in 2016 to facilitate infrastructure development in the Visakhapatnam Chennai Industrial corridor which benefits Andhra Pradesh state exclusively.

In the Srikalahasthi-Chittoor node, the project will aid in the development of the Chittoor-South industrial cluster covering an area of 938 hectares. It will also involve the improvement of a 9.5-kilometer access road to the Chittoor-South cluster and an 8.7-kilometre access road to the Naidupeta industrial cluster.

The project's objectives include the implementation of an updated marketing action plan to promote investments and the enhancement of skills among individuals, particularly those belonging to socially and economically vulnerable groups. To address the resilience of industrial clusters in extreme weather conditions, the project will establish operational guidelines for a green corridor model and develop a disaster risk management plan.

The program will formulate a plan to improve the operation and maintenance of start-up industrial clusters, while also introducing a toolkit that offers guidance on gender-responsive and socially inclusive integration of industrial and urban planning, including industry housing in areas adjacent to industrial clusters.