Infrastructure

Social infrastructure

Andhra Pradesh offers a large pool of skilled manpower. Every year, 350,000 skilled graduates pass out from universities, 81,000 graduate from engineering schools and another 10,078 students graduate from management institutions. About 23 per cent of India's software professionals within and outside the country are from Andhra Pradesh.

The state has about 226 engineering colleges, of which 30 per cent of the total capacity is allotted for Information Technology. The state has dedicated institutions for biotechnology, ITES/BPO and other industries. The Government has set up a number of institutions in collaboration with prestigious institutions to reach world-class standards in education. Some of these include:

• International Institute of Information Technology established by IBM, Motorola, Signal Tree, Oracle and Satyam

• Indian School of Business with the Wharton School, the Kellogg School of Management and London School of Business

• Master of Science in IT Programme (MSIT) in collaboration with the Carnegie Mellon University

• Andhra Pradesh is the first to launch a world-class training programme for ITES/BPO

• National Academy for Construction and the Knowledge Park

The state provides better and advanced healthcare facilities with a presence of Super Speciality Hospitals. Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, has been recognised as the 'Health Capital' of the country.

The state plans to start a large number of research institutions like International Centre for Research in Semi-arid Agriculture Technologies (ICRISAT),

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology etc. The state has introduced various biotech courses in the universities at all levels and plans to set up the Indian Institute of Life Sciences.

Access infrastructure

Andhra Pradesh is well linked internally as well as to the rest of the world. All airports in the state have been upgraded to Boeing landing facilities. The state is active in encouraging the private sector to improve the port infrastructure. Three ports have been privatised in the state.

• Highest number of landing centres in the country at 508 in 2002-03

• Port infrastructure including 13 major and minor ports

• Cargo handling capacity of 44.6 MT

• Visakhapatnam port - second largest in the country

• Railway network of 5,107 mt, 620 stations and handling capacity of 35 MT annually

• Road network of 194,523 km including 4,104 kmof National Highways

• Modern airports at Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Putaparthi with Boeing landing facilities

The Visakhapatnam port handles largest tonnage among all Indian ports. Other minor ports in the state include Kakinada, Krishnapatnam, Vadarevu and Gangavaram.

To provide a suitable atmosphere for setting up asset management, venture capital companies, insurance companies, commercial banks, a Financial District is being set-up in Hyderabad. With the establishment of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority headquarters at Hyderabad, the state has been recognised as the 'Insurance Capital.'

Power
 

• Highest PLF of 88.9 per cent in the country

• Highest hydel installed capacity in the country

• Srisailam complex is the largest hydro power station with an installed capacity of 1,670 MW in the country

• Srisailam complex is the first underground powerhouse in the south

• Pochampad Hydroelectric Scheme is the first to use microprocessor controls in powerhouses in the country

• One of the leading producers of thermal power in the country

• Thermal plants achieved top three positions in PLF rankings in India in 2003

Industrial infrastructure

The state with 272 industrial estates ranks second in in the country. The state has four growth centres at Bobbili, Jadcheria, Hindupur and Ongole. The state has two Special Economic Zones at Visakhapatnam and Kakinada facilitating a good environment for exports and investment. The state ranks third in worker population and fourth in the total number of factories.

Specialised parks

Apparel export park
Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) is a pioneer in promoting and developing industrial estates and industrial development areas. Thus, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has entrusted APIIC with the task of developing a product-specific industrial area, the 'Apparel Export Park' for garment manufacturers and exporters.

Genome Valley
The State Government has declared an area of 600 sq km in Ranga Reddy District as the Genome Valley in which biotech activities will be encouraged and promoted.

A Knowledge Park has been set up by the State Government in collaboration with ICICI at Ranga Reddy District. The ICICI Knowledge Park is a 200 acre facility, which provides organisations with ready to occupy research and development laboratories. The park also provides affordable infrastructure to small and medium enterprises.

Adjacent to the ICICI Knowledge Park, a biotech park has been established to create a world-class R&D centre for biotech industries and comprises of technology incubation for commercialisation of viable research projects.

Marine biotech park
A marine biotech park that will act as a hub for biotech companies developing products using marine organisms is being set up at Parwada near Visakhapatnam in association with APIIC. The park will house a marine biotech complex with dry laboratories, library and incubator facilities to enable research by companies. So far 218 acres of land has been earmarked for the park while land-leveling, water supply installation and electrification work is in progress. In a run up to the ambitious project, the Government is supporting the development of a Centre of Excellence in Marine Biotech Resources Development at the Andhra University in Visakhapatnam.

Agri-biotech park
The agri-biotech park provides an opportunity to tap ICRISAT's upstream research expertise and use its world-class infrastructure. It brings together the expertise available at ICRISAT, the State Government and other reputed private sector companies.

Pharma park
The pharma park is the result of a need felt to meet the increasing demand for bulk drug manufactures. A large part of India's pharmaceutical activities will be taking place in Andhra Pradesh. The APIIC having in its possession about 2000 acres at Parawada has taken up the responsibility of establishment of the Pharma City. This is a very unique concept and the first of its kind.

Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP)
The Export Promotion Industrial Park is located at Pashamylaram and is well connected by road, rail and air. Spanning an area of 160 acres, it is equipped with all the essential facilities. It is ideal for export oriented units such as hardware, gems & jewellery, telecom, leather products and garments.

Gems & jewellery park
The gems & jewellery park is a joint venture between Andhra Pradesh State Trading Corporation Ltd (APSTC) and IOI Corporation, Malaysia. The joint venture heralds a new era of gems and jewellery trade in Andhra Pradesh. The project will be a free processing zone, which proposes to work on the lines of a Special Economic Zone with all incentives and features.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
The Government of India has formulated a policy for setting up SEZs in the country. They are specially delineated as duty free enclaves for industry, trade and services. Thus, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has proposed the establishment of a SEZ at Visakhapatnam.

IT infrastructure

Andhra Pradesh is connected to all the global destinations through international gateways in Mumbai, Chennai and Kochi. The state developed a number of IT parks offering incentives to the investors. The state is in the top quartile of Internet subscribers with 219,000 in 2003.

• Two phases of Hi-Tech City, the largest of its kind in the country

• Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) of 27,000 km in length laid by BSNL

• Offers up to five levels of telecom redundancy

• Bandwidth of 365 Mbps out of Hyderabad and 100 Mbps out of other cities

• Satellite earth station - Ku band network

• Postal infrastructure includes 16,213 offices and I 18 telegraph offices

Content Source: www.ibef.org