Andhra Pradesh Municipal Minister P Narayana has announced that the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) has approved tenders for 59 development projects worth Rs 37,702 crore to facilitate the construction of the greenfield capital city Amaravati.
These projects will commence immediately after the cabinet's approval on 17 March 17. Municipal Minister P Narayana said, "As many as 59 tenders worth nearly Rs 37,702 crore were approved for the construction of Amaravati. Nearly 20,000 people will be engaged in Amaravati development work starting next month."
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu chaired the 45th CRDA meeting at the secretariat, where several key decisions were made regarding Amaravati's development.
"Previously, tenders were invited for a total of 73 projects worth approximately Rs 48,012 crores with the approval of CRDA and the cabinet. Out of these, tenders for projects valued at Rs 37,702 crores were opened on Monday and approved in the CRDA meeting. Letters of Intent will be issued immediately for executing these projects," Narayana said.
Among these 59 projects, 22 fall under CRDA's purview, valued at around Rs 22,607 crores, while 37 projects of ADC are worth approximately Rs 15,095 crores. The CRDA, which has 24 projects, has invited tenders for only 22 so far, with the remaining two scheduled to be opened on 17 March, he said.
Additionally, tenders for 19 more projects worth Rs 16,871 crores will be invited by the end of this month. These include projects such as the NTR statue, an iconic bridge, connecting roads to the national highway and the Karakatta road (Krishan river bank road) construction. Between 2014 and 2019, tenders worth around Rs 43,000 crore were invited for Amaravati development work, and approximately Rs 9,000 crore were spent. Furthermore, lands were allocated to various organisations.
The overall development of Amaravati's capital city is estimated to cost around Rs 64,000 crores, and as per the Chief Minister, no funds will be taken from the taxes collected from the people of the state, Narayana said. CRDA currently holds around 6,203 acres of land acquired from farmers, of which 1,900 are allocated to various organisations.
