Amaravati, March 10 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday directed officials to develop the state as an integrated strategic material hub, suggesting that valuable minerals such as beach sand should be utilized effectively.
Reviewing the Mining Department, the chief minister discussed with officials the proposed Andhra Pradesh Titanium and Strategic Materials Mission (AP-TSMM).
"Develop the state as an Integrated Strategic Material Hub. Valuable minerals such as beach sand available in the state should be utilized effectively, besides providing value addition," Naidu said in an official release.
He stated that this mission would attract large-scale investments and create thousands of employment opportunities, which would significantly boost the industrial development of the state.
According to the CM, the AP-TSMM should aim to attract Rs 50,000 crore investments and generate 40,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
He instructed officials to study the policies followed by the central government and other states regarding rare minerals as well as opportunities for value addition.
Meanwhile, they informed the CM that beach sand minerals available along the state's coastline are among the most valuable in the country. To effectively utilize the minerals available in the state, officials proposed establishing three major processing parks.
They proposed a Titanium Park in Srikakulam with a production target of 1.5 million tonne per year, a Rare Earth Corridor in Anakapalli (25,000 tonne per year) and an Integrated Titanium and Rare Earth Corridor in Machilipatnam.