Located on the banks of River Krishna, Amaravati is the new capital of Andhra Pradesh in Guntur district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the new capital on Thursday. 

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

After performing the rituals to lay foundation stone of Andhra Pradesh's new capital, PM Modi said that Amaravati is going to become the people's capital in real sense.

He said that the capital city will have all modern facilities and that focus should be towards urbanisation and sustainability.

PM Modi congratulated the people and the Andhra Pradesh government for their new capital and said it was an important step for the state. He even lauded N Chandrababu Naidu for taking initiative to work on this new capital. 

"Be it Andhra Pradesh or Telangana, the soul is Telugu. Both states must progress."

Also Read: Modi lays foundation stone of Amaravati; says urban development should be considered as an opportunity

Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Nirmala Sitaraman, AP and Telangana Governor E S L Narasimhan and Chief Ministers of AP and Telangana N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao, respectively, were among those present on the occasion of 'shila nyas' in the village, about 40 kms from Vijayawada, the commercial hub of the state.

Located close to two developed cities- Guntur and Vijayawada, Amaravati is easily accessible from north and south, coastal districts and Rayalaseema region, according to The Indian Express reports.

Source: PTI

The city's master plans have been developed by Singapore government agencies which is called the Seed Capital Area (SCA) Master Plan for Amaravati. The Master Plan sets out in detail the land use and infrastructure plans for the start-up area of Amaravati. 

Media reports pointed out key factors that are taken into consideration for this master plan and they are- providing jobs and homes, world-class infrastructure, quality living, protecting identity and heritage and resource management and environment.

An official release said that the state government will put up hubs of sports, entertainment and will work towards promoting economic activity and the Centre will provide funds for construction of government buildings. 

Chandrababu Naidu had earlier launched "My Brick- My Amaravati" scheme where people across the globe could donate money for building the state by buying e-bricks priced at Rs 10 each.

Also Read: Andhra Pradesh: Chandrababu Naidu's Amaravati e-brick scheme brings in Rs 23 lakh on first day

The city will be spread over 54,000 acres of land out of which 21,000 acres is already acquired by the government and the rest is owned by the farmers. According to CNBC-Tv10 reports, the government has used unique land pooling system to overcome problems while acquiring land.

According to media reports, the first phase of the capital city will be completed by 2019 which will have the capacity to serve 40 lakh people and the city will host the State Secretariat, Legislative Assembly, Raj Bhavan, and will have key infrastructure for the capital city.

Also Read: Andhra Pradesh: Phase 1 of capital city Amaravati to come up by 2019

The capital will have a 135 km metro rail network which will pass through with transit-oriented development along its network and core areas. 

Reports say Hyderabad will remain the joint capital of both states until development of the new capital is complete.

(With Agencies)