VIJAYAWADA: Telangana may take over two years for the Secretariat and iconic structures like High Court and Assembly buildings to become a reality, but roses will surely bloom soon in the capital region. The Amaravati Development Corporation Ltd (ADCL) has recently finalised the conceptual designs of the Rose Garden that is slated to come up in about 22 acres. The proposed Rose Garden is part of the Amaravati Central Park which is being planned in 300 acres at an estimated cost of Rs700 crore.
The ADCL, which has already begun landscaping, has invited Expression of Interest (EOI) last month for the development of the park. Officials said that plan is to give a shape to the park by the first half of next year. “The conceptual drawings of the Rose Garden are finalised. We are developing the garden by ourself. Our plan is to plant saplings in the Rose Garden before monsoon so that it attains a shape by early next year. Therefore, if all goes as per the plan, Amaravati Central Park will be the first structure to come up in the capital,” head of the urban planning of ADCL P Suresh Babu told TNIE.
As per the final conceptual drawings, the Rose Garden will be divided into bridge rose garden, hanging rose garden, glasshouse garden, a fairy castle garden, sculpture garden, waterfall rose garden, topiary garden, classic European fountain garden, Natraj garden and toy train with clock tower garden. About `30 crore to Rs 25 crore for civil works and Rs 5 crore for greenery — will be spent on the Rose Garden. The Central Park, which will be developed in 300 acres in Sakhamuru village, will also have other facilities like wilderness park, lake, amusement and entertainment park, crafts bazaar, etc. According to the officials, about 55 firms have evinced interest in developing 12 facilities.
“While the greenery projects will be developed by ADCL, other facilities like the amusement park, four and five-star eco hotels, amphitheater, etc., will be taken up under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. We are working on inviting tenders after scrutinizing the EOIs,” Suresh Babu, who is also the head architect of ADCL, explained. Apart from the landscaping works, ADCL is also busy in excavating soil to create a lake in the centre of the park in about 52 acres. The soil thus excavated is being used in the development of wilderness park and rose gardens.
When asked about the proposed NTR Garden, which will also have a statue of NTR, officials said that the state government is yet to take a call on it. “We have studied various tallest statues erected across the country. If the state government decides to go ahead, we will begin the other proceedings,” another official observed.