Andhra Pradesh has asked the central government to approve three National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZ) in the state under the new national manufacturing policy, said a senior official.

The proposals were sent recently and they are under active consideration of the central government, said state Industries Commissioner Rajat Kumar.

The zones are proposed at Zaheerabad (Medak district), Chittoor and around proposed Ramayapatnam port in Prakasam district.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here Wednesday, Rajat Kumar said NMIZ would be developed as fully industrial cities with each zone having a minimum of 5,000 hectares (4,500 acres). 

Each zone will have 30 to 40 percent of the area earmarked for manufacturing while the rest of the area would be for residential purpose, hospitals, schools and other activity.

The officer, who was part of the exercise to evolve the national policy in the ministry of commerce and industry, said the vision of the central government is to develop very large self contained manufacturing townships.

"The idea is to have completely Greenfield areas and not existing townships. The idea is to create new cities and new livelihood opportunities," he said. The central government has approved eight such zones but all along the proposed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor.

Rajat Kumar said Andhra Pradesh has also requested that Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor be extended to Krishnapatnam port in Nellore district. 

Addressing a conference organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to promote exports, the industries commissioner said Andhra Pradesh would announce export policy by March next year. This would make Andhra Pradesh the first state to come out with such policy.

He said the draft submitted by the CII would be fine tuned. With annual exports of Rs. 91,614 crore, Andhra Pradesh stands fifth in the country. The officials said the state had the potential to achieve more.

Rajat Kumar said there was a proposal to set up Research and Innovation Council of Hyderabad (RICH) to develop a network between industry and research institutes in Hyderabad. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy recently mooted the idea.

There are also proposals to set up Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and National Institute of Design in Andhra Pradesh. Rajat Kumar said these institutes could help boost the trade and assist the industry in branding, promotion and designing.