Is Vizag Becoming the ‘Mumbai of the East Coast’?

For years, Visakhapatnam was known as a calm and beautiful coastal city. Clean beaches, steel plant, port life, navy’s eastern command head and peaceful lifestyle  that was Vizag’s identity. But things are changing fast with data centres, massive IT investments to developing industrial and energy economic corridors connecting  from Raipur to down Chennai and then all the way to up north Guwahati too.Thus, making Vizag, not just the centre of state’s growth but a pillar of nation’s growth. 

Now under the new Andhra Pradesh Building Rules 2025–26 that were headed by the IT minister Lokesh specifically for Vizag significance, the high-rise limit has been increased from 18 metres to 24 metres. In simple words, builders can now construct taller buildings with faster approvals. This one change is slowly reshaping Vizag’s skyline. 

Land is becoming costly and limited. Earlier, with FSI 1.0, only about 30–35 flats could be built on one acre. Now with FSI going up to 4.0 in key zones, nearly 120+ flats can come up on the same land. That means more homes without expanding the city too much horizontally.

This is exactly how Mumbai grew. When land became scarce, the city started growing upward. In Vizag too, premium apartment demand is rising sharply. IT employees, pharma professionals, port-based industries and upcoming industrial corridor workforce are ready to spend ₹1 crore and above for gated community flats especially in Madhurawada and Rishikonda that are also offering high rise flats with amazing sea views. 

Areas like Madhurawada – Kapuluppada and the Bhogapuram – Bheemili stretch are seeing heavy activity. With the upcoming Bhogapuram International Airport and expanding IT ecosystem, real estate is moving into the premium segment.

Henceforth, Vizag is slowly moving from a “peaceful city” to an “economic growth city”. If the same pace continues, the tag “Mumbai of the East Coast” may not sound exaggerated anymore. But the best part here again is seeing the shortfalls of Mumbai’s unsustainable urban growth, the government is keenly working on developing the most needed sustainable practices for the city’s development. Thus, Andhra’s  skyline is rising. And with it, Vizag’s ambitions too.