Minister Narayana said that funds are being mobilised through various means so that there would be no burden on the state exchequer.
Published Mar 11, 2025 | 7:05 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 11, 2025 | 7:05 PM
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu chaired a CRDA meeting on Tuesday.
Synopsis: Speaking in the state Assembly, Minister P Narayana said the capital city, Amaravati, will be constructed in three years.
The Andhra Pradesh government will develop the state’s capital city, Amaravati, at an estimated cost of ₹64,721 crore in three years.
Replying to a question in the state Assembly, Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana said the work on the Amaravati project would commence in a couple of days.
The capital city would be completely constructed in three years, he told BJP’s Sujana Chowdary during the question hour on Tuesday, 11 March.
The minister said that funds were being mobilised through various means so that there would be no burden on the state exchequer. The funds thus raised would be utilised for the creation of trunk infrastructure and the construction of the government complex, part of the Amaravati project.
The state government reaffirmed its commitment to providing developed plots to farmers who contributed land for Amaravati’s construction under the land pooling scheme.
The government acquired 34,000 acres of fertile land close to Krishna river bank, where Amaravati would be developed. It would be on the list of five top five cities in the world.
Narayana said that funds were being sourced from both international and domestic financial agencies, including ₹13,400 crore from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank, ₹5,000 crore from Germany’s KfW Bank, and ₹11,000 crore from HUDCO.
The government was hoping to complete modern buildings for the Assembly, Secretariat, and High Court within the next three years.
Later in the evening, the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), which oversees Amaravati’s construction, approved works worth ₹40,000 crore to be executed by various construction agencies.
The CRDA, chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, discussed the next steps, and agreements with the selected construction companies were expected to be sealed in a few days.
Speaking to reporters after the CRDA meeting, Narayana lashed out at the previous YSRCP government for stalling Amaravati’s development.
He said that works assigned between 2014 and 2019 were left incomplete, leading to financial losses for contractors. However, he assured that with the recent progress, construction would resume soon.
Since the NDA government took charge in the state, a technical committee has reviewed pending projects. So far, clearance has been obtained for 73 works. The upcoming projects, which require ₹16,871 crore, include the construction of NTR Senior’s statue, an iconic bridge, and the Krishna River embankment road (karakatta).
Estimates for these projects have been prepared, and tenders were expected to be issued by March end. Additionally, the government has plans to auction 4,000 acres to generate funds for Amaravati’s construction.
On Monday, 10 March, Narayana briefed the media after a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee, which revealed that between 2014 and 2019, land was allocated to several companies in Amaravati. The sub-committee has now reviewed these allocations and made necessary modifications.
Of the 131 companies that were previously allotted land, 31 would retain their original allocations, two would be relocated, and 16 would receive alternative sites.
Meanwhile, allocations for 13 companies have been cancelled for various reasons.
As expected, the minister criticised the previous YSRCP government for allegedly politicising the Amaravati project and delaying its development. He pointed out that tenders worth ₹43,000 crore had been issued earlier, with ₹9,000 crore worth of projects already completed.
However, he claimed that the previous government’s alleged vendetta derailed Amaravati’s progress. Since the new government took over, it has spent the last eight months resolving legal hurdles. Now, fresh tenders to the tune of ₹48,000 crore have been issued, and construction will begin within two to three days.
Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav emphasised that not a single rupee from the state treasury was being spent on Amaravati’s construction. Instead, the entire project would be funded through the sale of land. He praised Chief Minister Naidu for implementing a financial model that avoided burdening the state’s finances.
He accused former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of misleading the public by claiming that Amaravati’s construction required ₹1 lakh crore. Keshav asserted that the capital was being built without such a massive expenditure.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
