more-in After getting the ‘fast-track’ project status, the domain-specific IT tower planned by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (erstwhile VUDA) has been in the sleep mode for nearly two-and-a-half years, thanks to the differences between the Central and State governments. The MoU for construction of the standing Jumbo-shaped structure had been signed in the presence of Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and then Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu here on February 18, 2016. The Department of Electronics and IT, under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, had agreed to spend ?62.7 crore on the construction. The VMRDA, as per the MoU, had allotted 1.2 acres near its head office at Siripuram for construction of the 10-floor super structure. However, since the signing of the MoU and declaration of the fast-track project status, there has been no progress worth the name on it. “We are keen on pursuing the project, but it is not taking a concrete shape due to the political differences between the BJP and the TDP,” an official connected with the project implementation told The Hindu seeking anonymity. Air of uncertainty Though there was no confirmation on shelving the project officially, State IT Minister N. Lokesh, during one of his visits to the city, had said that due to change in the policy by the Centre, the IT Investment Region (ITIR) proposed in Visakhapatnam had been dropped. The Central Public Works Department is supposed to complete the work on construction of the tower within 18 to 24 months of getting the work order. As per the MoU, the VMRDA’s equity would be the site earmarked for the tower. The project conceived in 2009 is supposed to provide plug-and-play facility for the marine, energy and petroleum-related innovative IT projects. It is aimed at providing employment to 5,000 people and fetching a turnover of ?500 crore to ?600 crore. There had been a delay in signing the MoU, with both the STPI and the VMRDA insisting on getting a big say in the project and later over who would take up its construction. On the intervention of MP K. Haribabu, the State government agreed to the construction by the CPWD.

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