Vizag will be the financial capital of the state, says IT Minister Lokesh

The TDP-led NDA government in the state is determined to develop Visakhapatnam as the financial capital of Andhra Pradesh and make it a trillion-dollar economy by 2047, Information Technology Minister Nara Lokesh has said.

“One State-One Capital and decentralized development is the approach of the state government,” Mr. Lokesh said on October 12, 2025 (Sunday).

The minister was in the city to participate in various programmes, including a data center project at Rushikonda. He laid the stone for the first 50 MW AI-powered Edge Data Center and Open Cable Landing Station at Rushikonda, which was set up by Sify Infinit Spaces Limited in two phases on 3.6 hectares of land with an investment of Rs. 1,500 crore.

After laying the stone, Mr Lokesh said, “If Hyderabad took 30 years to develop, Visakhapatnam will take 10 years. Visakhapatnam will receive the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India's history. We are confident that we can create a trillion dollar economy by 2047.”

“When IT companies came to Hyderabad in the 1990s, Prime Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had built cyber towers. It took more than thirty years for Hyderabad to develop. It will not take more than a decade for Visakhapatnam. That is our commitment. People must recognize the hard work behind bringing the companies. Now we are competing not only with other states but also with other countries for investments,” the said. Mr Lokesh.

“People elected us because of our One State-One Capital policy and decentralization of development. We won 94% of the seats. People gave a clear majority for effective governance, job creation and for making Visakhapatnam the financial capital,” he added.

“The people of Visakhapatnam have always been with the TDP. Even though we lost in the state and elsewhere in 2019, the people of Visakhapatnam have been with us. When Hudhud struck in 2014, the city suffered a lot. The people of Visakhapatnam supported Mr Naidu for the revival of the city,” he said.

Investment flow

“More than 50% of the $120 billion of investments in Andhra Pradesh in the last 17 months have come to the greater Visakhapatnam economic region. The country's largest steel plant is coming to the Visakhapatnam region. The largest foreign direct investments in India's history are coming to Visakhapatnam. It will develop a vibrant ecosystem,” he noted.

“As stated in the Super Six pledges, our main target is to create 20 lakh jobs. We will create 5 lakh IT jobs in Visakhapatnam,” Mr Lokesh said.

“A few criticized the government for allotting land to IT giant TCS for 99 paise. Some even approached the court,” he said, adding that companies like Cognizant, Accenture and Google would set up their units in Visakhapatnam.

“The twin-engine government is moving like a bullet train. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is supporting AP's economic agenda. The state is being given priority in the economic reforms being implemented by the Centre. We are able to save the Vizag Steel Plant because of the twin-engine government,” he said.