Relief from power-cuts is likely in the near future for the IT units in the special economic zones here and those located outside the SEZs, going by the promise of the State IT Minister P. Lakshmaiah.
He made the promise here on Wednesday evening after laying the foundation stone for the construction of an IT incubation tower at the Rushikonda IT special economic zone atop a hill overlooking the Bay of Bengal.
He said the AP Government had urged the AP Electricity Regulatory Authority to exempt IT units from power-cuts and load restrictions during peak hours.
The minister said the IT incubation tower would be ready by the end of the year and the State Government was going to spend Rs 23 crore on it. The IT department wanted to build another IT tower here in the city, but the urban development authority or the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) would have to provide the site.
He said such IT towers would also be built at Kakinada, Warangal, Tirupati and Karimnagar to promote IT in tier-two towns and cities in Andhra Pradesh. He said IT exports from Andhra Pradesh amounted to Rs 53,000 crore per annum, with Visakhapatnam accounting for Rs 1,200 crore, and the sector was providing direct employment to more than 3 lakh persons in the State. He said it was a substantial achievement and one which the State Government could justly be proud of.
O. Naresh Kumar, the CEO of Symbiosys, an IT company in the SEZ, pleaded that the penalties collected by the Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd should be waived and the amount should be adjusted against future power bills. The minister promised to look into it.