The New Indian Express ·
AP govt clears infra hurdles, backs small firms
VIJAYAWADA: From unblocking legacy land litigations in Tirupati to laying dedicated industrial water pipelines in Kurnool, targeted administrative interventions across Andhra Pradesh are helping hundreds of stalled manufacturing units get moving.
Under the State’s MSME Policy 4.0, inter-departmental interventions are driving a wider infrastructure push that has seen the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) hand over 3,246 industrial plots, spanning 1,954 acres, to small enterprise owners between June 2024 and September 2026.
These plot allocations represent a proposed investment of Rs 9,162 crore and have an estimated direct employment potential of more than 1.15 lakh jobs, moving the state closer to its target of “One Family, One Entrepreneur by 2030”.
The impact of resolving operational bottlenecks is clearest in regional manufacturing pockets that were previously held back by administrative hurdles.
In Tirupati, the long-pending removal of Section 22-A prohibited-list restrictions cleared legal titles for 337 automobile repair and manufacturing units. The intervention directly protected the livelihoods of more than 1,500 workers while enabling APIIC to resume work on 630 metres of delayed internal roads in the Auto Nagar cluster.
Similar administrative momentum has taken hold in SPSR Nellore, where plot allotments resumed after a prolonged lull, taking the total to 364. This included 100% allotment of 136 plots at Amancherla Phase-I, attracting Rs 352 crore in private investment and generating potential employment for 4,350 people.
In industrial clusters facing chronic utility shortages, targeted civil works are being taken up to make sites operational. Across the Guntupalli and Brahmanapalli industrial zones in Kurnool, APIIC has begun constructing overhead tanks, sumps and distribution pipeline networks to address long-standing industrial water shortages.
At the same time, regional demand has saturated developed industrial estates in Chittoor, where the Palamaner MSME Park achieved 100% plot allotment, with 242 of the 251 developed plots being allotted. To support plug-and-play setups statewide, APIIC has invested Rs 641.50 crore in internal roads, power lines and basic utilities across industrial parks since April 2024.
This focus on resolving operational hurdles is being accompanied by a deliberate push to decentralise industrial infrastructure to smaller towns.
Under the 175 MSME Parks Scheme — aimed at setting up at least one industrial estate or Flatted Factory Complex in every Assembly constituency — work has commenced or foundation stones have been laid in 138 constituencies, covering nearly 79% of the state.
The drive is also broadening ownership among the State’s 23 lakh MSMEs, with women already heading nearly 45% of registered enterprises. Of the fresh allotments sanctioned since June 2024, 33% of plots were secured by SC entrepreneurs, 23% by BC entrepreneurs and 8% by ST entrepreneurs.
Operational relief is being provided through Extension of Time fee waivers for entrepreneurs whose construction timelines were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with direct hand-holding sessions to establish credit linkages with public sector lenders such as APSFC, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India.
As a result, 466 units have already commenced civil works, while 37 have entered commercial production. Structural works, including those at Sprint Poly Labs LLP in Anakapalli and operational units in Kadapa’s Kopparthy MSE-CDP, are now under way, with steel and concrete facilities being erected. This marks a shift in the state’s MSME narrative in the State.