N Chandrababu Naidu apprised Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw that a bullet train connectivity would accelerate the economic growth in South India.
Published Oct 09, 2024 | 8:47 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 09, 2024 | 8:48 AM
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu calling on Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi on Tuesday, 8 October.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has requested the Centre to provide a high-speed rail corridor connecting the four South Indian economic hubs, Amaravati, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Speaking to media persons in Delhi at the end of his two-day tour on Tuesday, 8 October, Naidu said the project is expected to commence in 2026.
Naidu said he had apprised Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw that a bullet train connectivity would accelerate the economic growth in South India. Except for Vijayawada, all three cities have more than one crore population each. Vijayawada has about 60 lakh population but will cross one crore soon.
India’s first high-speed rail corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is under construction. Once completed, it will allow trains to have an operational speed of 250 kmph.
In his meeting with Union Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy, the chief minister sought the Centre’s intervention in the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. He said the steel plant is one of the sentiments of the people of Andhra Pradesh and urged him not to privatise it.
“We are looking at all options available to retain the steel plant in the public sector. We want a permanent solution to the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant issue,” he said.
The chief minster said he would welcome BPCL refinery at any of the four places: Ramayapatnam (Prakasam district), Machilipatnam (Krishna), Mulalpet (Srikakulam) or Krishnapatnam (Nellore). He said he won’t mind where the BPCL would set up its refinery-cum-petrochemical complex as long as it is in Andhra Pradesh. The BPCL is expected to invest up to ₹60,000 crore in this project.
The chief minister also announced that NHPC and GENCO would set up a green hydrogen project in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of ₹1 lakh. “We will have the foundation stone laying ceremony next month,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Hyderabad-Vijayawada four-lane highway is expected to be widened to eight lanes. The chief minister raised the issue with Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari to which the latter had responded positively.
Apart from this, Amaravati would have a 183-km outer ring road and the project is expected to be grounded in two to three years.
Naidu said the prime minister had promised to hand-hold the state in implementing the Swarnandhra Vision 2047. The chief mister expressed his gratitude for clearing Andhra’s proposal for ₹12,500 crore revised project estimate for the completion of the Polavaram project and also sought the Centre’s intervention for the clearance of World Bank loan for reconstruction of Amaravati for which works are expected to begin next December.
The chief minister said he had taken up the Visakhapatnam Railway Zone issue with Railway Minster Ashiwini Vaishnaw. He said he had reminded him that the state government has already allocated necessary land for the location of the buildings for the zonal headquarters and that the Centre would soon lay the foundation stone.
Naidu also sought railway connectivity between Vijayawada and Amaravati, Machilipatnam and Repalle, Narasrapuram and Machlipatnam, and Repalle and Bapatla.
He also sought the location of a digital hub and a data centre in Andhra Pradesh and added that the state government would encourage the startups which use AI in making their products. He said the state government would make use of data that is available on the cloud, he said.
The chief insider said that the road from Visakhapatnam Beach to Bhogapuram International Airport would be developed and there was also a proposal to start a civil aviation university in Visakhapatnam.
There is also a proposal to lay a direct greenfield road to Machilipatnam Port from Hyderabad, Naidu said.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
