Emphasising the need to resume the capital development works at the earliest, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu told the AP – Capital Region Development Authority (AP-CRDA) to formulate plans to develop Amaravati as the ‘City of Artificial Intelligence’, and to complete the construction of the G+7 CRDA head office building at Rayapudi in the next 90 days.
Addressing a review meeting on CRDA, along with Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana, at the Secretariat on August 29 (Thursday), Mr. Naidu said the capital project was put on the backburner by the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) Government, as a consequence of which the buildings had undergone significant damage. Construction of the CRDA head office building was also abandoned midway. The works should be taken up in right earnest.
He instructed the officials to revive the Happy Nest project, which evoked tremendous response in 2014-19, but did not find favour with the buyers thereafter as the YSRCP Government completely ignored it. The construction was taken up on 14 acres and the flats in the 12 high-rise towers that constitute the sprawling commune, were sold like hot cakes. Unfortunately, the project plunged into uncertainty after 2019.
Mr. Naidu said an additional 3,558 acres was needed to be acquired in the capital area for various constructions and infrastructure works, and that the farmers were coming forward to give their lands. He told the officials to sort out issues hampering the allotment of developed plots to some farmers.
Officials told the Chief Minister that 60% of the ‘jungle clearance’ works were completed in the capital region.
Mr. Naidu ordered the officials to take up the metro rail works in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada at a fast pace.
AP Metro Rail Corporation Limited Managing Director N.P. Ramakrishna Reddy said the Visakhapatnam metro rail works would be completed in two phases, the first phase (46 km) at a cost of ₹11,400 crore and the second one (30 km), ₹5,734 crore.
The 38-km-long Vijayawada metro railway would be accelerated in the due course, he stated.
