Chandrababu Naidu dreams of Tokyo in Amaravati

VIJAYAWADA: Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu dreams of a Tokyo city, Japan's capital, in Amaravati which hosts the new state capital with the help of Japanese technology. Naidu expressed his wish during his interaction with an 80-member business delegation from Japan hosted by Economic Development Board, Department of Energy, Industries and Infrastructure, government of Andhra Pradesh on Monday.Even as the AP government has finalized Makki and Associates, a leading Japanese architecture firm, to design two iconic buildings of assembly and high court, Th chief minister also expressed hope that Japan with its technological prowess would replicate Tokyo in Amaravati. The CM sought to showcase his state as an ideal destination for investments for Japan. "Our workforce is docile, low-cost and skilled and labour is industry friendly here for any overseas agency", he asserted. The government has planned to ensure that the state's landscape will be dotted with abundant Japanese companies in the future. While 15 Japanese companies were located at different places in the state as of now, the number was expected to touch 150 by the end of current fiscal year. Naidu expressed his government's commitment to take forward a MoU it had entered with the Toyama Prefecture of Japan in December, 2015 which focuses on creating conducive environment for Japanese industries in different areas. The delegation leader and Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry Yosuke Takagi outlined the sector-specific interests of the delegation which included energy management systems, security systems, data centers, waste management, infrastructure developers, engineering companies, and railway signalling companies. Takagi further stated that Andhra Pradesh was a model state for anybody to invest since it was a pioneer in reforms and agricultural development. "Japan looks forward to investing in different sectors like trade and commerce, infrastructure, technology, agriculture, automobile and defence, Takagi added. He said flood management with the Japanese technologies would hold the key to capital designing. He informed that the GoAP and Japan's ministry of economy and trade had constituted a joint committee for industrial development. The session focused on potential opportunities in the state followed by networking sessions. The Japanese business delegation comprised of representatives from companies such as Sumitomo, Mitsubishi. Toshiba, Fuji, Toyota, Noppon, NEC and Internet Initiative Japan, among others.