VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) has intensified ground levelling work in Amaravati as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to relaunch the construction works of the State capital between April 15 and 20.
Though the Prime Minister’s Office has accepted the invitation extended by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the exact date of Modi’s visit to Amaravati is yet to be finalised. The APCRDA has taken up extensive groundwork for the PM’s visit, including levelling 250 acres of land, deploying 16 excavators, four heavy cranes and six trucks at the site.
A major public meeting is being planned at west of the N-9 road behind the Secretariat Building Complex in Velagapudi, where Ugadi celebrations will be held on March 30 on a 40 acre site. After the end of the festivities, development works will commence in the same area for the PM’s programme.
Modi, who initially laid the foundation stone for Capital Amaravati on October 22, 2015, is coming again to relaunch the construction works. The government has finalised tenders worth Rs 37,702 crore. It plans to develop Amaravati as a world-class city at an estimated cost of Rs 62,000 crore. The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and HUDCO have sanctioned over Rs 26,000 crore to support capital development .
Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Ponguru Narayana has asserted that Amaravati will be a self-sustaining project.
Modi is expected to launch multiple development projects worth Rs 42,000 crore. The event marks the resumption of capital construction, which came to a halt due to the previous YSRCP government’s three-capital proposal.
Amaravati farmers are hopeful that the PM’s visit will bring additional benefits to them. Narayana is overseeing arrangements, holding a series of review meets with officials to ensure the success of the PM’s visit. The government views this as a historic occasion that will accelerate Amaravati’s development, and reaffirm AP’s place on the national stage.