Andhra Pradesh plans Singapore-style ‘smart economic township’ in Amaravati

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh govt is planning to develop an integrated township in Amaravati on the lines of northeastern Singapore’s Punggol district, IT and HRD minister Nara Lokesh said on Monday.

Once a rural fishing village, Punggol has today evolved into a digital technology hub that boasts modern eco-friendly waterfront residences. Addressing a meeting of the Joint Implementation Steering Committee (JISC) in Singapore, Lokesh said the proposed township in Amaravati would serve as a model for urban development in the state and across the country — just like Punggol, which is known as Singapore’s first ‘smart district’.

A delegation, led by Lokesh, met representatives of the JISC under Singapore’s ministry of trade and industry as part of ongoing cooperation between the two govts. Lokesh said AP has already issued a request for proposal (RFP), inviting partners for the development of Amaravati Economic Region, and added that the capital city has received national legal recognition, boosting investor confidence, and facilitating investments.

Global MICE hub plan

Stating that AP is keen to develop the Amaravati Economic Region with Singapore’s support, he called for exploring trade opportunities linking the state with Southeast and East Asia through Singapore. “AP aims to emerge as a global destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), drawing on Singapore’s Suntec City model. A new MICE policy is being drafted, and dedicated bureaus will be set up in Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, and Tirupati to provide single-window clearances for international events,” Lokesh said.

He said the state expects hotel room capacity to increase fourfold, to 20,000, over the next five years, with both national and international hospitality firms entering Amaravati. “Approvals have been given for four convention centres in the capital, while a world-class MICE facility, Andhra Pradesh Mandapam, is being planned in Visakhapatnam in partnership with the India Trade Promotion Organisation,” he added, while seeking Singapore’s expertise to support digital transformation and real-time governance initiatives in the state.

Port-based trade corridor

Lokesh also met Gloria Wu, CEO of Singapore Commodities Intelligence Centre (CIC), and sought cooperation in trade linkages across seafood, agriculture, minerals and pharmaceuticals, besides integrating MSME exporters and sharing commodity intelligence. He proposed a pilot digital trade corridor between Singapore and Visakhapatnam or Krishnapatnam ports using CIC’s blockchain platform to enable paperless trade and cargo transparency. He also suggested hosting an AP-Singapore joint commodity trade roundtable involving exporters, CIC, Enterprise Singapore, and SGX.

Pointing out that AP is the country’s largest aquaculture producer and contributes 40-45% of India’s chilli exports, with a strong presence in marine products, minerals and pharmaceuticals, Lokesh said the state is focusing on port-led industrialisation to boost exports. He sought the CIC’s support to revive chilli exports through aggregation, grading and quality standardisation involving farmer-producer organisations, while CIC will facilitate buyer linkages and trade finance. He proposed launching a chilli pilot project and activating CIC’s buyer networks, including those in China.

Gloria Wu said CIC connects verified buyers, sellers, logistics providers, and financiers through a digital B2B marketplace, offering commodity intelligence, demand forecasting, price monitoring, blockchain-based documentation, customs clearance, and traceability. She said it also supports supply-chain finance and MSME exporters, and will examine AP’s proposals.