Tenders worth Rs 37,702 crore approved for Amaravati development, says minister

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Municipal Minister P Narayana on Wednesday 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 greenfield capital city Amaravati.

These projects will commence immediately after the Cabinet's approval on March 17, he said in an official statement on Tuesday.

"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 from next month," said Narayana.

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 a total of 24 projects, has invited tenders for only 22 so far, with the remaining two scheduled to be opened on March 17, 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 organizations. In line with the decision made in the ministerial committee meeting on Monday, the CRDA meeting approved the land allocations made to 31 organizations, Narayana noted.

Additionally, land changes were approved for two companies, while another 11 firms received both land reallocation and an extension of their timeframes.

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, out of which 1,900 acres are being allocated to various organisations.

Even after these allocations, CRDA will still have about 4,000 acres of developed land, which will be leased or auctioned to generate revenue for constructing the capital city, the minister said.

A total of Rs 15,000 crores has been borrowed from the World Bank, Rs 11,000 crores from HUDCO and another Rs 5,000 crores from various banks, bringing the total loan amount to Rs 31,000 crores, he said.

These funds are being utilized to commence Amaravati development works.

He further stated that land prices in Amaravati are expected to rise as a result of these developments. Once they appreciate, the government plans to auction some of the lands to repay both the principal and interest on the loans taken.

Also, he mentioned that Rs 6,000 crores has been allocated in the budget for Amaravati development, primarily from loans raised through various banks.

The minister noted that Amaravati capital region spans 53,500 acres, including all types of lands, out of which 30 per cent of area is designated as green and blue spaces.