VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for the five-towered Secretariat near the Amaravati Government Complex at Kondama Rajupalem on Thursday. Incidentally, the Secretariat is the first permanent administrative building to have its works begun since the announcement of Amaravati four years ago.
The CM said the Secretariat would be the tallest government building — 212 metres — in the country and has the largest raft foundation — 10,981 cubic metres of concrete and 52m x 52m x 4m of raft — in India. The concrete will be poured into the raft continuously for 72 hours from Thursday. “It is a historic moment to launch the Secretariat’s works. We will complete it in 36 months,” he noted.
"A few people moved courts and tribunals, but none of the farmers or farm workers, who agreed to give lands for the capital, did so. I thank all the farmers for giving 33,000 acres of land,” he said.
Naidu said the complex was designed for 16,000 employees and 10,000 visitors with world class corporate office amenities. The complex would be constructed in 41 acres of land to accommodate 145 departments. The built-in area is around 56 lakh sq ft with 13 lakh sq ft of parking for 4,000 cars. While four towers will have 40 floors each, the fifth one will be 50-storeyed and will house the CMO. The estimated cost of phase-1 works is Rs 2,200 crore and the total cost is pegged at Rs 4,800 crore.
500 acres for housing
The State government was mulling to reserve 500 acres of land in Amaravati to provide for housing for the people, who are likely to move to Amaravati for work. “We are also planning to reserve 500 acres in different pockets so that we can provide housing to at least 50,000 workers, expected to move to the capital in the near future,” the Ch ief Minister said.