VISAKHAPATNAM: Though a decision on making Visakhapatnam the executive capital is yet to be taken, there has been a spurt in officials visiting the city, reportedly to scout for premises to locate offices of various department heads. Officials are making discrete visits to the city with the task of finding suitable locations for government offices.
Ever since Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy made a statement in the last Assembly session about the possibility of three capitals, Visakhapatnam has been in the limelight. Moreover, with both GN Rao Committee and Boston Consulting Group submitting almost identical reports on advantages of the port city if it houses the executive capital, there has been a lot of activity at various levels among official circles.
AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) Managing Director Rajat Bhargava inspected Millennium Towers at Rushikonda and IT SEZ on Wednesday. His visit assumed significance as the building has been touted for hosting the temporary secretariat. Bhargava reportedly suggested some modifications to make it suitable for the offices.
Adding to the speculations that the temporary secretariat might be housed in twin IT towers, IT Director Pratap Reddy also reportedly visited and inspected the building. Meanwhile, IT Secretary Kona Sasidhar will be visiting the city soon and hold a meeting with IT representatives at IT Hill. However, the purpose of the meeting has not been revealed.
A couple of days ago, marketing officials reportedly inspected the IT Hill to look for a suitable location for the department building.
Though officials were tight-lipped over their purpose for frequent visits to the steel city, sources, who wished not to be quoted, said the HoDs at Amaravati had been orally advised to be prepared in case a decision was taken to shift the capital.
The 10-storey Millennium Tower, an iconic building in Cyber Valley on Hill No 3 of Rushikonda, was constructed at a cost of `145 crore. It has a total built-up area of two lakh sqft with three-floor cellar parking space. Construction of the Tower-2 of the Millennium Towers is nearing completion.