Andhra Pradesh plans 5,000-acre greenfield airport in Amaravati

Lokesh outlines State’s strategy to become leading destination

Andhra Pradesh HRD Minister Nara Lokesh announced plans for a 5,000-acre greenfield airport in Amaravati, where the government is developing the capital as an urban, education and research hub.

Speaking at the Pan-IIT Summit 2026, Mr. Lokesh said Andhra Pradesh was working to transform itself into a developed State and contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a Viksit Bharat.

He said the State government’s strategy was centred on “speed, service and stability”, with the focus extending beyond investment announcements to the creation of projects, jobs and long-term economic growth.

From investment commitments to projects

Mr. Lokesh said the government was seeking leadership across key sectors and was relying on a combination of experienced leadership and a younger political team.

“Nearly half of the MLAs and 17 of the 25 Ministers are first-time legislators and Ministers respectively,” he said.

On governance, Mr. Lokesh said policies should be framed to withstand legal scrutiny and political transitions.

He said the government was using Artificial Intelligence to analyse previous recruitment orders and court cases while preparing new policies.

The recruitment of nearly 16,000 teachers was cited as an example of how technology was being used to identify weaknesses in earlier processes and reduce the risk of legal challenges.

The Minister said the State was moving beyond signing MoUs and was concentrating on ensuring their implementation.

He cited the proposed Indian School of Agriculture at Madanapalle, which was intended to support an integrated horticulture ecosystem covering research, mechanisation, processing and market access.

“The government estimates the ecosystem can attract investments of nearly ₹1 lakh crore,” he said.

Steel, technology and emerging sectors

Mr. Lokesh also referred to the proposed 17-million-tonne ArcelorMittal greenfield steel project.

He said the project had progressed from initial discussions with Aditya Mittal to foundation-laying in about 17 months, including environmental clearances.

He said the Google data-centre investment had strengthened Visakhapatnam’s position on the global technology map.

Mr. Lokesh credited coordination between the State and Union governments with resolving regulatory and taxation issues related to the investment.

He said Andhra Pradesh was also supporting emerging sectors such as space, drones and quantum technology.

The government had allotted 300 acres to space startup Skyroot, while waterfront access had been provided to maritime-drone company Sagar Defence, he said.

Sectoral clusters and renewable energy

Andhra Pradesh was developing 23 sectoral growth clusters, covering areas including horticulture, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, renewable energy, solar manufacturing, semiconductors, quantum technology, space and defence, Mr. Lokesh said.

The State added about 4.8 GW of renewable-energy capacity in a year and aimed to move from third position to first, he said.

Mr. Lokesh stressed the need for vertical integration of industrial supply chains.

He also called for horizontal integration linking industry with education, skills, research and testing.

He urged the Pan-IIT community to help connect Andhra Pradesh with industry experts and alumni to strengthen the State’s cluster strategy.

Faster government processes

Mr. Lokesh called for collaboration on what he termed “Visible Governance, Invisible Government”.

He linked the phrase to the institutionalisation of faster government processes.

The government’s stated approach combines sector-specific growth clusters with efforts to connect industry to education, skills, research and testing.

The projects cited by the Minister included the proposed agriculture institution at Madanapalle, the ArcelorMittal steel project, the Google data-centre investment and the planned Amaravati airport.

Together, these examples reflected the government’s stated emphasis on moving from commitments and policy design to implementation, sectoral capacity and long-term economic growth.

Source: The Hindu