The Andhra Pradesh government has renewed focus on Amaravati as the state’s capital, committing to infrastructure development and urban planning. After years of political tussles and delays, this decision is expected to reignite growth, attract investments, and fulfill aspirations for a world-class capital city at the heart of Andhra Pradesh.
In October 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the greenfield Andhra Pradesh capital project, Amaravati. Now, almost nine years to the day, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced that he will be restarting work on his dream project that had been put on ice during the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy regime (2019-24).
“Destiny has found its course. After five years of neglect and crushed hopes, Amaravati rises again. Our people’s capital will now be built… the work restarts today, Onward and Upward,” declared Naidu, taking to social media platform X to announce that construction had resumed on the eight-storied Capital Regional Development Authority (CRDA) office on October 19. The building, at Rayapudi in Amaravati, is more than 70 per cent complete but, again, no work happened on it in the last five years during the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) government.
Work on the major projects in the proposed city will start by January 2025. To ensure there are no hiccups, a separate environment and social impact unit is being set up at the CRDA for environmental clearances. “Fast-track clearances are essential. Projects worth an estimated Rs 50,000 crore are happening, which will require individual clearances from the Union environment ministry and the state agency. A dedicated unit at CRDA will help avoid delays,” says P. Narayana, the municipal administration minister.
Funding is no longer a challenge. The state is expecting the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to clear the loans shortly. All old tenders are being shelved and estimates are being prepared for completing development works in two phases within 24 months. Iconic buildings are expected to take a tad longer (30 months) with the designs approved earlier for the new high court and legislature buildings being used with no changes.
Naidu wants to make sure that large parts of Amaravati are up and running before the 2029 assembly election. To assuage the expectations raised by Jagan’s now aborted ‘three capitals’ plan, Naidu has announced that the port city of Visakhapatnam will be developed as the financial capital while a high court bench and industries will be set up at Kurnool. Jagan had proposed to make Visakhapatnam the administrative capital, Amaravati the legislative capital and move the judiciary to Kurnool on the plea of promoting equitable development of all the regions. But, as often happens in the state, news of dubious deals in Vizag’s real estate market had cast a cloud on that narrative.
Naidu referenced those reported deals and called its protagonists “420” (cheats). “My government’s Vision 2047 plan is aimed at developing the state⦠the ‘420’ will not understand it. After one call, 29,881 farmers had come forward to donate 34,241 acres in this region,” claims Naidu. He’s talking of the voluntary land pooling system from his earlier government (2014-19) where, in exchange for serviced residential and commercial plots and other safety benefits, farmers had donated land for the capital city.
The WB and ADB have, in principle, committed to finance the first phase of Amaravati’s development to the tune of $1,600 million (Rs 13,600 crore). The Centre will fund the remaining Rs 1,400 crore. Funding for the second phase will depend on how soon the first phase is completed.
Are Amaravati and Andhra Pradesh then on the “rebound”, as Naidu’s camp will have us believe? Analysts contend that it is a daunting task, adding that it will work only if he can successfully implement the economic and industrial policy, unveiled on October 17, for the next five years. The goal is to generate 2 million jobs and create an ecosystem to ‘not only attract but also build global brands’.
Jobs and development are poll promises he has articulated in six documents released so far. On paper, the plans seem perfect, but Naidu, once known as the ‘CEO of Andhra Pradesh’, will need much more than marketing skills to make Amaravati a reality and a showcase for the state in its transformation from an agrarian economy to a 21st century industry powerhouse. #hydkhabar
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Ahssanuddin Haseeb