In a significant development, Andhra Pradesh government has resumed the construction works of Greenfield Amaravati Capital project on Saturday.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu formally re-started the work of the ₹160 crore Headquarters of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) in Uddamdarayapalem in Tullur mandal of the capital region which was halted in 2019 by the YSR Congress Party Government led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
“With this resumption of work, we began to re-write the history of the State. I was criticised when I gave 5,000 acres of land to Shamshabad airport. Today, even that 5,000 acres of land has been well-utilised,’‘ he said.
He added that over 30,000 farmers pooled in nearly 34,200 acres for the capital with trust in the government. Including the Government land, a total of 54,000 acres was pooled in for the new capital which was first of its kind.
Lamenting the previous government’s decision to halt the construction work and change the capital plan, Naidu said the World Bank had agreed to provide a loan for Amaravati and the construction of the new capital would proceed with `jet speed’.
Amaravati would be an ideal location for the capital as it is centrally located in the State, the Chief Minister said while balanced regional development is a focus for his government, Visakhapatnam will be developed as a financial capital along with setting up of High Court Bench and industries in Kurnool.
“I have requested the Centre for a Bullet Train for the State which should connect Bangalore, Hyderabad, Amaravati and Chennai,’‘ he said.
Bids
The original estimate of ₹48,000 crore mega capital project is likely to be revised upwards by about ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 crore due to escalation of costs in the last five years and the adverse impact of sudden halt of works in 2019.
The revised bids will be called by the Government by the end of December. While the CRDA Headquarters will be completed in the next four months, the first iconic tower for other administrative offices, Assembly and High Court, is expected to be ready in 2027.
After the NDA government assumed office in July, contracts for clearing the shrub jungle in the capital region were awarded and the work has already been completed.