Exclusive | As Amravati project gets bigger, what’s Chandrababu Naidu planning for his dream capital?

Naidu had first announced Amaravati as the state capital when the TDP came to power in 2014. But after losing power in 2019, the project was scrapped by the YSRCP government which proposed a “three capital formula” for “decentralised governance” — Amaravati as legislative capital, Visakhapatnam as administrative capital, and Kurnool as judicial capital.

Work on the Amaravati project restarted after Naidu’s return to power last June. The state government now wants to expand the capital development plan by including an international airport and more outer and inner access roads, said sources.

The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) is learnt to be scouting for land in the villages located in the core capital zone, in Guntur and Krishna districts.

According to sources, a new international airport has been proposed in Amaravati not only to provide quick and easy access to the capital city, but also in view of the fact that the nearest airport at Vijayawada may soon become congested.

Besides an airport, the additional land is proposed to be used for an outer ring road to provide access to the capital region, including the 16.9-sq-km seed capital area, and to new highways and expressways, mainly going towards Hyderabad and other parts of Andhra Pradesh including Machilipatnam and Visakhapatnam.

The Naidu government has put the project on the fast track. APCRDA Commissioner K Kannababu said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to inaugurate the restarting of Amaravati works, estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore. Chief Secretary K Vijayanand said Modi is expected to come later this month.

Last month, the APCRDA cleared 59 tenders for developmental works worth Rs 37,702.15 crore, including construction or upgradation of roads and bridges, construction of three reservoirs as part of the Krishna river flood management plan, water supply, and development of parks and green spaces.

P Narayana, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, said these tenders were part of the 73 works worth Rs 48,012 crore cleared by the Cabinet. About 20,000 workers from across the country, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chattisgarh, are expected in the state to work on the projects.

Sources said the state government is confident of completing the Amaravati project this time, after securing funds from the Centre (Rs 15,000 crore), World Bank (US$ 800 million), HUDCO (Rs 11,000 crore), and ADB (US$ 789 million).

The Naidu government has also started re-engaging with the Singapore government, which had helped prepare the original Amaravati masterplan. Earlier this month, Chief Secretary K Vijayanand held talks with a Singapore government delegation which arrived in Amaravati. The state government sought the Singapore government’s full support for the Amaravati project, said sources.

Minister Narayana estimated the total cost of developing the basic capital city of Amaravati, as per the proposed plan and facilities, at about Rs 64,000 crore.

According to the plan, the greenfield project includes a 217-sq-km core capital region within which is the 16.9-sq-km seed capital area housing the Secretariat, Legislative Complex, High Court building, housing for ministers, MLAs, MLCs, HC Judges, senior IAS and IPS officers.

Nine theme cities are planned in the larger capital region — knowledge city, health city, electronics city, tourism city, justice city, media city, sports city, finance city and government city.

The actual capital region plan envisages a vast 7,420-sq-km metropolitan area, covering Vijayawada city and surrounding areas, including the districts of Guntur and Krishna, of which 217 sq km forms the core capital area.

Meanwhile, of the land acquired earlier, the APCRDA has an excess of 6,203 acres, of which 1,900 acres will be allocated to organisations across various sectors including education, medical services and hospitality, according to Minister Narayana.