Japan willing to make Andhra's capital Vijaywada 'smart', set up power plants

Hyderabad, Oct 22: Japan is keen to develop various projects in Andhra Pradesh, including state capital in Vijayawada-Guntur region as a smart city and three power plants of 10,000 Megawatts.

A high-level Japanese delegation on Wednesday met Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu here and expressed willingness to transfer high-technology in agriculture and food processing sectors, cold chains and food parks.

The delegation consisted representatives of key economic organizations like Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development (NEDO) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The delegation, which met Naidu prior to his visit to Japan next month, evinced interest in power projects including 4,000 MW thermal power in Visakhapatnam, 4,000 MW thermal power in Srikakulam and 2,000 MW solar power in Anantapur.

A joint working group has been constituted to work on these projects. The group includes heads from industry, infrastructure, energy, information technology and agriculture departments, Member of Parliament Y Satyanarayana Chowdary and state's special representative in Delhi K Rammohan Rao, said a statement from the chief minister's office.

The delegation also discussed their interest in Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor and Bangalore-Chennai Industrial Corridor.

The delegation informed Naidu that they will be meeting officials of 100 companies in New Delhi next month and wanted a representation from Andhra Pradesh as a prelude to the chief minister's visit.

IANS