“Outer limit to shift my office to Vizag is December,” says YS Jagan

VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced that he and his administration will be shifting to Visakhapatnam by December 2023 and that will be the outer limit. Officials are scouting for a suitable location for shifting the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and accommodation for senior functionaries in Visakhapatnam, he added.

YS Jagan inaugurated the Infosys development centre at the IT SEZ in Madhurawada on Monday. In an interaction with the employees, the Chief Minister said, “Visakhapatnam is one particular city that has the potential to become Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. After bifurcation of the State, we don't have a tier-I city like Hyderabad in the State and all the IT and its allied sectors were housed in Hyderabad and not in cities like Visakhapatnam.”

YS Jagan said the port city was an educational hub, housing eight prestigious universities and four medical colleges, 14 engineering colleges and 12 degree colleges. Almost 12,000-15,000 engineering graduates were being generated every year from the city of destiny, he said.

The Chief Minister also said that Visakhapatnam housed National Law University and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). Apart from that, the port city also had the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), the Eastern Naval Command and other public sector undertakings. Highlighting the other infrastructure available in Visakhapatnam, he said that the city had a strong port-based infrastructure in Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram. One more greenfield port is going to come up at Mulapet in Srikakulam district, he added.

Referring to air connectivity to the city, YS Jagan said that Visakhapatnam had an international airport and in another two years, an exclusive civilian airport would come up in the port city. “I am very confident that Visakhapatnam will become a tier-I city in the coming years. Taking a cue from Infosys, other IT companies should also set up their offices in Visakhapatnam and extend their support to encourage the IT sector in the State. The Adani Group is also developing an 'Integrated Data Center and Technology Business Park’ in the port city, to boost the local technology ecosystem in the region. Soon, Visakhapatnam will be the destination where dreams will come true for all,” YS Jagan said.

Nilanjan Roy, Chief Financial Officer, Infosys, said, “Aimed at bringing the workspace closer to Infoscions, this center will further our approach towards creating hybrid workplaces, and also offer new opportunities to the local talent pool. Visakhapatnam has developed into a favorable investment destination, and we are very grateful to the State Government of Andhra Pradesh for extending their support as we commence our operations here.”

The CFO said that spread across 83,750 sq. ft., the Visakhapatnam DC would provide greater flexibility to employees to work in a hybrid mode, and closer to their home. The new center would enable Infosys to also attract, re-skill, and up-skill local talent to work on global opportunities through next-gen technologies like Cloud, AI, and Digital. The DC, which would accommodate approximately 1,000 employees, was aligned with Infosys’ future-ready hybrid workplace strategy. Additionally, in alignment with Infosys’ ESG commitments and green building standards, the office was constructed to be efficient in terms of energy and water usage, as well as waste management, Nilanjan Roy said.

Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated the new Eugia Steriles Pvt Ltd at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma city, Parwada mandal in Ankapalle district. It was built at a cost of Rs 300 crore and around 800 persons would get direct employment through this unit.

Further, YS Jagan proceeded to AP SEZ, Achuthapuram and inaugurated Unit 2 Formulation Block, an additional building complex at Laurus Labs. This apart, he also laid a foundation stone for the new industry of Laurus Labs.