If Naidu's dream does fructify, it will cap a succession of projects that Andhra Pradesh has enticed in recent times.

Tata group chairman Ratan Tata is slated to call on chief minister Naidu in Hyderabad on Friday. The state government has already discussed the issue with the Tatas. Sources say the Tatas' response has been positive, and that an understanding could be reached in the Friday's meeting.

Though the avowed purpose of Tata's visit is to launch the Tata Cellular coastal Highway corridor, discussions on the airport project will figure prominently in the meeting. In fact, the Tatas' exit from the Bangalore airport project has come as ablessing for Naidu, who has been keen on setting up an international airport in Hyderabad and an international standard airport at Vizag.

The state government has already identified two sites at Shamshabad, south of Hyderabad, and Nadargole for the proposed international airport, which is expected to cost up to Rs 3,500 crore and take 92 months to complete.

Though Naidu is said to be keen on the Shamshabad site, a study team of the Airports Authority of India, which visited the city recently, prefers Nadargole on the grounds that it is better-suited.

Though it is not known which site the state government will offer to the Tatas, it is certain that the proposal would have to go through the bidding process.

Ratan Tata is believed to be inclined favourably to Hyderabad, going by his recent statement that the future belongs to the Andhra Pradesh capital. The Tata group has a major presence in the state through its two group companies, Tata Communications and Tata TeleServices.

After its bad experiencein Karnataka on account of the lackluster response to its TechnoPark and the treatment meted out by the government to its airport project proposal, the Tata group may settle for Hyderabad, sources say.

According to industry observers, Chandrababu Naidu's latest initiative to up the ante on Karnataka speaks volumes about his pro-active approach and offers an insight into the mind of a visionary who has gone about boosting the economic prospects of his state like no one else before him.

The recent chain of events both within and abroad have amply borne out that economic prosperity and progress hold the key to the well-being of society. Naidu's trail of decisions, which will be felt long after his tenure runs out, will make Andhra Pradesh a destination of choice for decision-makers in the long term.