Nellore: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has expressed confidence in creating job opportunities to 6.17 lakh people while pointing to Rs 2,75,000 crore investment in the offing in Andhra Pradesh in the coming two years. Addressing the public after laying foundation stone for Celkon mobile phones manufacturing plant and ceramic cluster near Tirupati on Thursday, he said Tirupati would be developed as a hardware hub.

He was all praise for the skilled labour force, especially women, doing an excellent job at Celkon after training offered by the company. Referring to his interaction with these women before the public meeting, the CM said he noticed tremendous confidence in them to take up any task successfully and their lifestyle has totally changed. The Chief Minister said as many as 12,000 jobs were generated when Foxconn established their unit after bifurcation at Sri City.

He appealed to investors to make use of the proposed industrial corridor of Chennai, Tirupati and Krishnapatnam (Nellore). He assured to complete the pending works of Somasila, Malle Madugu, Telugu Ganga and Balaji Reservoir projects along with the interlinking of Krishna, Godavari and Penna rivers. By finishing the Handri Neeva canal by this year, he promised to make Chittoor as a drought-free district.

Speaking on the occasion, Information Technology minister Nara Lokesh promised to generate one lakh jobs in Reniguta cluster in the coming two years. Addressing the public meeting, he said his target is to lay foundation stone for a company every month so that the government would produce more job opportunities for the unemployed.

Industries minister N. Amarnath Reddy expressed confidence in creating 25,000 jobs, especially for women, in Chittor district. He said they had been providing all clearances for the industries within 15 days through single window, though the time limit is 21 days.

Earlier, Mr. Babu interacted with foreign delegates. He also hoisted a 100-ft national flag near the airport at Tirupati. Reminding that the flag was designed by Telugu man Pingali Venkaiah, he underlined the need to hoist such flags before the railway stations also. Meanwhile, the police detained CPI, CPM and YSRC leaders of Srikalahasthi region when they attempted to stage a protest against irregularities in offering compensation for the lands acquired for industries.