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Ponguru Narayana, Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development Government of Andhra Pradesh, is holding the same portofolio for the second time in the NDA Government led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
As a minister during the TDP government between 2014-19, Narayana was deeply involved in the planning and grounding of the Greenfield Amaravati Capital Project. He is now again playing a key role as the Minister for Urban Development and overseeing the resuming of work on Amaravati. businessline spoke to him on the state of affairs of the new capital and the plans ahead. Excerpts:
The estimated expenditure for Amaravati Capital Project is ₹48,000 crore. How is the State placed to handle this financial burden?
There will be support from global multilateral agencies. The World Bank (WB) team has already studied the project and is willing to provide funding. A formal announcement in this regard is likely in about a month. We are also in discussions with other global agencies like Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The Government of India has also assured support. I don’t think financing will be a hurdle. The capital will be built as a self-sustaining project and will also generate wealth.
There has been a time lag of five years in the execution of the project during 2019-24 by the previous government. What could be the cost-escalation on account of this?
The original estimated cost of the project is ₹48,000 crore. Out of this, ₹5,000 crore has already been spent. We are expecting the cost-escalation will be in the tune of ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 crore. The sudden halt of construction work resulted in massive loss of public money. The half-constructed structures have to be revived now. The quality of construction during the TDP regime during 2014-19 was so good that an expert committee certified that the structures were not damaged even after being subjected to neglect by the previous government, and vandalism.
As the TDP government had already awarded the contracts during 2014-19, what will be the course of action for resuming construction now? Will the old players get the contracts again now?
As per procedure, we have to close the previous contracts legally and call for fresh bids. We are in discussions with those contractors and expect them to close all of them legally by November. Fresh bids will be called in December this year.
When do you expect the first buildings to be ready in the new capital? Any priority in construction work?
A 360-km trunk road within the capital region region and connecting zones, five iconic towers of about 50 floors each to house entire administrative set up in a single place, Assembly, High Court and a four-lane river-bund road are among the top priorities though the master plan has many other structures that make it a world-class capital city. We expect that the first administrative structures will be ready by 2027.
Are there any changes in the original master plan in view of the recent unprecedented level of flooding in Krishna district?
The capital city is being designed to withstand a flood to the tune of 25 lakh cusecs. We have called for the design of three canals - Kondaviti Vagu, Palavagu and a gravitation canal - in the capital zone for proper drainage and discharge of flood waters. The original master plan was well-researched and conceptualised. It will remain the same almost.
What are the plans of the Government for urban development beyond Amaravati in the State?
While Amaravati is the focus area for the capital, the vision of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is balanced regional development. Nothing has been done for the development of municipal and urban infrastructure in the State. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank had previously sanctioned ₹5,300 crore but it was not released as the YSRCP government did not pay the mandatory share of 30 per cent. We will pursue it and improve drinking water and sewerage facilities in all municipalities across the State.
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