The Andhra Pradesh government will soon enact an Investors Protection Act to safeguard investors and provide a legal framework for investment security, Information Technology, Electronics and Communications Minister Nara Lokesh said at the CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Lokesh said the proposed law would support companies investing in the state by offering greater legal protection and a clearer institutional framework. He invited companies not only to establish factories in Andhra Pradesh but also to move their headquarters to the state and undertake research and innovation locally.
“Do not just build factories, move your headquarters here….My invitation is that invest here and innovate here….our doors are always open for you,” Lokesh said, according to a report by PTI published in Deccan Chronicle.
The minister described Andhra Pradesh’s investment proposition through what he called the “3S” approach of speed, stability and services. He said these factors, along with the state’s coastline, connectivity and talent pool, were helping attract domestic and global companies. He added that companies including LG Electronics and Google were investing in the state, without providing further project-wise details in the statement.
Lokesh said the government’s approach was to treat investment proposals as state projects once an agreement was reached with a company. “Once we shake hands (with a company), it is our project,” he said, adding that the administration aimed to avoid delays and ensure that commercial production began quickly.
The proposed investor-protection framework comes as Andhra Pradesh highlights its ports and logistics infrastructure as a foundation for industrial expansion. The state has more than 1,000 kilometres of coastline, while Visakhapatnam and other ports together handle approximately 100 million tonnes of cargo annually, Lokesh said. Four greenfield ports are under construction at Ramayapatnam, Mulapeta, Machilipatnam and Kakinada. Their addition is expected to double the state’s cargo-handling capacity, according to the minister.
The port projects and the proposed investment law are part of the state government’s broader effort to link industrial activity with transport and logistics capacity. For companies, the combination of investment facilitation, port access and additional cargo capacity is being presented as a route to faster project execution and improved market connectivity. The supplied statement does not specify the proposed law’s provisions, approval process, implementing authority or timeline for introduction in the state legislature.
Lokesh also said Andhra Pradesh had received investment commitments worth Rs. 22.6 lakh crore since June 2024. Of these commitments, 73 per cent, valued at Rs. 17.2 lakh crore, had been converted into approved projects, he said. The approved projects are expected to generate employment for 12.7 lakh people. The statement did not provide a sector-wise breakdown, district-wise distribution or implementation status of these projects.
At the summit, Lokesh framed the state’s investment strategy around trade, technology and trust, saying the government wanted to convert these themes into investments, partnerships and employment opportunities. The proposed Investors Protection Act, the progress of approved projects and the construction of the four greenfield ports will determine how the government’s investment assurances translate into operating businesses and jobs.
