Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh Government will soon be floating bids worth ₹48,000 crore for the Greenfield Amaravati Capital Project.
“The bidding process is likely to commence in November, with works expected to start from January,” Bhaskar Katamneni, Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (AP CRDA) told businessline here on Tuesday.
The ambitious capital project, initiated by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government in 2014-19, was halted halfway by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government, led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in 2019. The YSRCP government wanted to shift the executive capital to Visakhapatnam, ignoring the commitment made by the previous TDP government to the farmers of the region who has provided their land through land pooling for the new capital. This also unleashed a flight of investments from the State.
“We are restarting all the works again. The original master plan has been retained and the bids will be as per revised estimates, which are about ₹48,000 crore,’‘ the CRDA Commissioner said.
Regarding the land acquisition for the capital, Bhaskar said most of the land pooling was already completed by the TDP government during 2014-19. “A small portion of 3,500 acres has been pending, out of which 200 acres has already been acquired. Farmers are happy and are eager to give the remaining,” he added. The project is coming up in 33,000 acres of land acquired from farmers in 30 villages in the Mangalagiri-Guntur region.
Though construction halted for five years during 2019-24, there has been no damage to the existing structures. “A panel of experts from IITs of Chennai and Hyderabad has certified the safety of these structures,’‘ he added.
Renewed interest
The global interest form the investors in investing in the new capital region is picking up again. “There are 130 entities which have shown interest in investing in Amaravati. We are also reviewing land allocation now and directing those who have not resumed work do so immediately. Some of the investors, who stepped back from proposed investments are coming back again now,” Bhaskar said.
CONNECTIVITY
In view of greater interests of the investments for driving economic growth in the capital region, connectivity is being augmented. “We will provide road, rail, air and port connectivity to the capital region. There will be canals for beautification purpose to attract global tourists,” he added.