Union Budget 2024 | Chandrababu Naidu's dream Amravati project gets new lease of life

Hyderabad: The announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget speech on Tuesday on arranging funds to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore this financial year through multilateral agencies has come as a major boost to the funds-starved Amaravati capital project.

Due to the little to no allocation of funds in the last five years, Amaravati looked like an 'abandoned city', with many almost finished high-rise buildings and other structures standing testimony to the neglect.

Track our live updates on Budget here

In the past, Andhra Pradesh also had a bitter experience with multilateral agencies like the World Bank and China-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Board (AIIB) pulling out of the Amaravati project due to non-interest by the YSRCP government with its three capital plans in the name of decentralisation.

As one traverses through the villages of Amaravati, tens of nearly completed but unoccupied buildings bear witness to the neglect committed by the Jagan government over the past five years.

The longboard, which provided details about the planned government complex, is surrounded by bushes. The construction has halted midway, and the lack of activity has left these areas reminiscent of haunted places, replete with shrubs and bushes.

Track latest reactions to Budget here

Sources in the Andhra Pradesh government told DH that at least Rs 10,000 crore bills were pending to be paid to the contractors who had completed the work in Amaravati between 2014 and 2019. And, to call for tenders to either take up new works or complete the pending works, the government needs to at least settle some of the pending bills to bring back confidence among investors and contractors.

WB and AIIB to fund critical infra in Amaravati

Just months after YSRCP took over the reins of Andhra Pradesh in May 2019, in the middle of July of the same year, both the World Bank and the China-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Board (AIIB) pulled out of the Amaravati project without citing any specific reasons. It was later learnt that these two multilateral agencies withdrew due to the uncertainty surrounding Amaravati's future as the capital of Andhra Pradesh and the shifting priorities of the then Jagan government.

Both WB and AIIB were to extend a joint loan of $715 million to build critical infrastructure and facilities in five components in Amaravati. While WB was supposed to finance $300 million, AIIB was to lend the remaining total cost of the ‘Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project’.

The main component of the Amaravati project, Integrated Urban Infrastructure and Services, costs $465 million. AIIB was to fund $108.9 million. This component was to support the implementation of priority transport corridors as part of a broader land-use plan, as well as the integration of 25 villages into the Amaravati Capital City development.

The component was to finance the construction of 92.2 km of high-priority, sub-arterial roads as part of the network of roads planned under the Amaravati Capital City Master Plan, including the construction of associated utility corridors such as ducts for water, sewerage, drainage, communications and sidewalks, cycling paths, and street lighting; the building of road safety management capacity by relevant agencies; and the development and implementation of a road safety plan and awareness programmes on road safety.

Union Budget 2024 LIVE | Making a record for any Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman presented her 7th consecutive Union Budget on July 23, 2024 under the Modi 3.0 government. This Budget brought tax relief for the middle class, while focusing on jobs through skilling, incentivising employers. Track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analysis only on Deccan Herald. Also follow us on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.