HYDERABAD: After visualising Andhra Pradesh’s new capital, Amaravati, on the lines of Singapore city, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu now wants to develop it like Chinese financial capital Shanghai.
Naidu, who returned to Hyderabad on Saturday from China after crisscrossing the Communist nation for almost a week, vowed to set up ultra-modern infrastructure facilities in Amaravati to make it outdo Shanghai in every manner.
Briefing reporters about his China tour at the Secretariat here on Saturday, a highly enthusiastic Naidu, who seems to have been carried away by the development and the beauty of Shanghai, said he was very impressed with the infrastructure and development of Shanghai and wanted that kind of development in Amaravati also.
“I want to replicate the model adopted in Shanghai in Amaravati. The new capital city should be a world-class one with ultra-modern facilities like Shanghai,” he said. Stating that 90 per cent of the 500 Fortune companies set up their units in China due to the infrastructure available there, Naidu said, “If we create such facilities in the new capital, those companies would also come there.”
“There is a possibility of all the top companies of the world coming to Amaravati, if we create adequate infrastructure and investor-friendly policies in the State,” he added.
Expressing the need to construct speed train tracks, which are in Shanghai, in the State, Naidu said connectivity is important for the growth of the State. Since railways is one of the major source of connectivity, there is a need to develop speed train tracks in the State, he added.
“In Shanghai, speed train travels about 1,750 km in just five to five-and-half hours. We should also have such speed tracks in our State. I would take up the issue with railway ministry,” he said. According to Naidu, China had constructed 65 per cent of the world’s speed train tracks in last 10 years and this had helped it a lot in developing its economy.
“This year, China has set a target for construction of 5,000 km speed train tracks. This itself shows the capability of them in this sector,” he said. Stating that China has a focused approach towards all sectors, Naidu said his government would try to adopt that kind of approach in the State for the over-all development of all sectors.
Giving details of China’s ambitious project “One Road-One Belt”, Naidu said China was investing 1,600 billion dollars on this project, which would connect all the continents across the globe. “We should also think on this line. Then only we would be able to develop fast,” he said. He said during his visit to China his delegation had discussions with various government and private companies on sectors such as infrastructure, industries, urban development, tourism, higher education, irrigation, agriculture, IT, hardware and other major sectors.
“I have told them (Chinese firms) that lot of opportunities are waiting for them in
AP. We have natural resources, human resources and other facilities for setting up projects in the State. We have assured them of all possible help for investment,” he said.