Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Saturday that concerted efforts were being made to transform Andhra Pradesh into a preferred destination for investments, with Amaravati acting as a catalyst in the process. Emphasis was being laid on strengthening renewable energy, roads and buildings, seaports, civil aviation and gas infrastructure sectors.
‘A vibrant city’
He asserted that Amaravati was poised to evolve into a vibrant city with a population of 3.50 million in the coming years and create two million jobs. Of the total project cost of ₹51,000 crore in phase-I, 77% of the works (costing ₹40,000 crore) were grounded. The second phase requires ₹50,000 crore.
“I have said at the time of bifurcation that construction of Amaravati needs ₹5 lakh crore, and it will have a gestation period of 20 years. I am confident it will shape up into one of the world’s best capital cities,” Mr. Naidu said.
Land pooling
Releasing a White Paper on ‘Energy and Trunk Infrastructure including capital city Amaravati’, here on Saturday, Mr. Naidu said land pooling was a grand success in Amaravati and it evoked a good response from the farmers. But some vested interests were expectedly trying to mislead the potential beneficiaries. Construction of permanent government buildings and other infrastructure works were going on at a brisk pace.
A sum of nearly ₹5,500 crore was to be paid by the Telangana government to A.P. for the electricity purchased by it after bifurcation, he said. While grappling with the legal issues thereof, pressure was being mounted on Telangana to recover the dues. He said the government released ₹6,030 crore towards subsidy during 2018-19 to the energy sector, which bagged 137 awards. Besides, A.P. did not increase power tariff in the last four-and-a-half years and decided to keep the tariffs at the current level till 2020. Distributed smart grids and electric vehicles were given importance to rid the environment of pollution, especially in Amaravati, he added.
Greenfield aiports
The Chief Minister said the government was glued to the task of developing greenfield airports at Bhogapuram (Vizianagaram) and Dagadarthi (Nellore), a no-frills airport at Orvakal in Kurnool district, an airstrip at Kuppam and helipads at district and mandal levels.
Steps had been taken for construction of Bhavanapadu, Kakinada, Machilipatnam and Ramayapatnam ports, which hold the key to the development of the State, Mr. Naidu said.
