Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government and Chinese telecommunications firm ZTESoft on Saturday signed a letter of intent to set up a ‘joint incubation centre and smart city innovation hub’ in the coastal city of Kakinada.

The letter of intent was signed by the state’s Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Department with ZTESoft, a fully-owned subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, one of the largest telecom companies in the world, an official release said.

The innovation hub would be a joint collaboration between Shenzhen and Andhra Pradesh, it added. Shenzhen zone is one of the biggest and most successful industrial zones in the world and contributes almost 20% to the Chinese economy. AP-Shenzhen Joint Incubation Centre will be an 85:15 venture between the Innovation Society of Andhra Pradesh government and Qinhai Authority/ZTESoft.

The state government would invest ₹ 13.60 crore, while ZTESoft would invest ₹ 2.40 crore. The incubation centre would generate direct employment for about 670 people and indirect employment for 2,500 people in the next three years, it said.

Kakinada, known for its rich coastal resources and excellent institutional framework, is one of the top 20 candidate cities for development as smart city, the release added.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has expressed his intent to develop Kakinada as “Shenzhen style" coastal economic zone. Kakinada is the ideal location to host the AP-Shenzhen Joint Innovation Hub, it said.

The Department has signed the letter of intent with ZTESoft to develop the joint innovation hub and provide support to rise ₹ 1,000 crore funding from China. ZTESoft Technology Private Ltd and the Qianhai Authority of China proposed a three-year programme working with Andhra Pradesh’s Innovation Society to establish the talent and support infrastructure needed for a world-class technology start-up ecosystem, the release added.

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