Amaravati, Jan 6 (NationPress) The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, emphasized on Tuesday the necessity of advancing island tourism in the state, drawing inspiration from the Maldives.

The Chief Minister urged officials to significantly enhance tourism efforts and devise a comprehensive strategy for beach tourism.

During the Pradesh State Investment Board meeting, he mentioned that the Suryalanka beach should be developed along a 15-kilometer stretch.

He instructed that the Suryalanka coastline should remain a pollution-free zone. Additionally, the small islands near Sullurpeta could also be developed as part of this beach tourism initiative.

"We aim to establish island tourism similar to the Maldives. If we can create 25,000 accommodation units, we can significantly draw tourists," he stated.

Naidu also highlighted the importance of developing the Papikondalu-Polavaram area for tourism. The Konaseema, Pulicat, and Visakhapatnam regions hold great potential as tourism hubs, along with opportunities from Anantapur to Gandikota.

He expressed that plans should be executed to ensure the Tourism Corporation achieves an income of Rs 1,000 crore within the next 15 years.

During the Investment Board meeting, 14 projects were sanctioned, amounting to an investment of Rs 19,391 crore.

These projects span various sectors, including industries, tourism, food processing, and energy, and are projected to generate employment for 11,753 individuals.

To date, the SIPB has approved investments totaling Rs 8,74,705 crore, which is expected to create job opportunities for 8,35,675 people.

The Chief Minister commended the officials' collaborative efforts in attracting substantial investments in 2025 and encouraged them to maintain this momentum into 2026.

He remarked that the state's reputation, which suffered during the previous administration, has been rejuvenated, leading to an influx of significant investments.

Major corporations such as Google, Tata, Jindal, Birla, Adani, Reliance, TCS, and Cognizant are now investing in Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Minister emphasized that ministers and officials must ensure that no errors occur in their responsibilities.

Discussing advancements in the power sector, he mentioned that the government decided to absorb Rs 4500 crore in true-up charges without passing costs onto consumers, while simultaneously reducing power tariffs by 13 paise per unit.

By 2029, a target has been set to procure power at Rs 3.70 per unit. This progress in the power sector is attracting investments from various companies, including data centers, to Andhra Pradesh. He urged officials to maintain a swift governance approach.