The State Government of Andhra Pradesh and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held an inception workshop to discuss the key findings and direction of the draft Regional Perspective Plan (RPP) for the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC), India’s first coastal corridor on 29 May in Hyderabad. Mr. S.S. Rawat, Principal Secretary of Industries and Commerce led the workshop that was attended by independent experts, project implementing units, representatives from the business community, and from ADB.

The RPP aims to formulate a strategic framework that will create an enabling environment for industries in the VCIC region, which covers the state of Andhra Pradesh. At the workshop, industry analysis, infrastructure bottlenecks and business regulatory challenges were summarized and the direction for further analyses proposed to guide the corridor’s planning.

The primary goal of VCIC is the development of a well-planned and efficient industrial base served by world-class connectivity infrastructure. The availability of world-class infrastructure along the corridor will bring increased private investment in manufacturing and industrial activity in Andhra Pradesh. As the corridor stretches north-south over 800 kilometers along the coast between Chennai and Visakhapatnam, it will be India’s first coastal corridor. With this long and strategic coastline, VCIC is envisioned to serve as an international gateway that will integrate India further with the world economy. It aims to connect India with the production networks of East and Southeast Asia that form the core of global manufacturing today.