VIJAYAWADA: The Singapore government, which provided master plan for the development of Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh, has also been asked to participate in ‘Swiss Challenge’ for the master developer of Amaravati.
Disclosing this to mediapersons here Friday, chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said during his recent visit to Singapore he had thanked the Singapore PM and others for the master plan for the new capital city, which he wants to make even better than Singapore.
“I want to develop a dynamic capital, that is not just an administrative centre but a people’s capital, where there is economic activity. I am putting in my every effort to make it one of the best,” he said. The CM said none of the new capital cities like Dehradun, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Naya Raipur had developed as expected because they have largely remained administrative capitals and he does not want Amravati to be counted among them. It should be bustling with people and economic activity, he added.
The Chief Minister said now that the master plan is ready, the next step is for infrastructure development and since they do not have enough funds given the fiscal deficit inherited after state bifurcation, they want to go for development of the new capital city in ‘Swiss challenge’. “Singapore has been asked to be one of the partners of Amaravati development. Japanese companies too are showing interest and so are other big companies. Depending on their interests and capability, capital development works will be entrusted,” he said.
Further elaborating, he said administrative essentials like secretariat, assembly building, high court, raj bhavan, etc., will be constructed by the government, while the participating companies will be entrusted with commercial works, tourism, residential sectors. The government could also be a partner in the development and sharing of profits, he said and added, it is more or less like builder constructing apartments taking land from a landowner and giving part of the developed structure to the owner and selling the remaining for profit.
The CM said the capital city will be developed through Amaravati Development Corporation, CRDA and management consultancies in a time bound manner. Stating there is hardly 25 days left for the foundation stone laying ceremony of Amaravati at the hands of PM Narendra Modi, Naidu called upon people to be part of the capital construction.
Stating that he is working day and night to bail out the state from the financial crisis it has been pushed into after bifurcation, Naidu said he plans to have Economic Development Board (EDB) like that of Singapore, where the government corporations (such as Amaravati Development Corporation) will do business like any private company earning profits for the state.
Describing the state as a 16-month-old baby, the CM wanted it to be nurtured in a right manner and said he will act tough against those that hinder the process.