The dream project of Amaravati, the ultra-modern capital city of Andhra Pradesh, is all set for a grand revival with the launch of construction works by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit on May 2.
A brainchild of the Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the greenfield capital project was in a limbo during the previous regime headed by his bete noir YS Jagan Mohan Reddy from 2019 to 2024.
However, soon after coming to power in June last year, Naidu has been relentlessly working on reviving the project and also secured loans from the World Bank and other financial institutions. Being a crucial ally of the NDA government, Naidu also has solid backing from the Centre in executing the ambitious project, coming up in the Vijayawada-Guntur region.
Naidu is credited with conceiving the riverfront capital project during his previous tenure between 2014 and 2019.
Modi’s second visit
It will be the second time that the Prime Minister will be launching the construction works of the greenfield capital near the state Secretariat in Velagapudi.
He had earlier laid the foundation stone for Amaravati at Uddandarayunipalem in Guntur district on 22 October 2015.
Determined to compensate for the loss of Hyderabad, following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, in his previous term, began working towards building Amaravati.
After years of uncertainty, the construction of Amaravati is once again set to begin.
Following electoral drubbing in the 2019 elections, Naidu’s Amaravati dream was pushed into cold storage by the new YSR Congress Party government, which floated the controversial “three-capital” plan, envisaging Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, Amaravati as legislative capital and Kurnool as Judicial capital. It virtually meant that Visakhapatanm, the north coastal city, would be the full-fledged capital.
However, the plan failed to find traction among the people.
Back in power now, Naidu is going full steam on realising his dream project. Initially envisioned across 33,000 acres, the TDP government is now considering acquiring an additional 30,000 acres to accommodate future needs.
Ahead of the prime minister’s visit, the state government is preparing to launch some of the several big-ticket projects already in the pipeline.
On 16 April, the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) invited tenders for five iconic towers, four of which are the state secretariat and one for housing state government departments, for a total value of ₹4,668 crore.
Phase I of Amaravati, comprising 92 projects, is estimated to cost ₹64,910 crore. This includes infrastructure, housing, government buildings, and 19 iconic structures such as the Assembly building, a signature bridge, an NTR statue, a riverfront road along the Krishna, and major highway linkages. The iconic structures alone are projected to cost ₹16,871 crore.
Funding sources include, ₹13,400 crore (₹6,700 crore each) from World Bank and Asian Development Bank, ₹11,000 crore from HUDCO, and ₹5,000 crore from KfW Bank (Germany).
Inspired by Singapore, Amaravati is planned with 51 per cent green cover, canal-based transportation, and global architectural standards. Noted architects like Norman Foster and international consultants from Singapore, China, and Japan are involved in the design.
Follow us
