Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised the Union government’s full support to the Andhra Pradesh government in the construction of Amaravati as he officially relaunched development projects for the greenfield capital city.
Modi, who heaped praise on Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at an event in Velagapudi, laid the foundation for and inaugurated a total of 94 projects worth £5.79bn for Andhra Pradesh. These include city institutions, national highways, railway upgrades and defence-related installations.
The work for Amaravati includes 74 projects worth £4.9bn, including the construction of the Assembly, Secretariat, High Court and judicial residential quarters.
Modi also laid foundation stones for nine central projects worth £502.8mn, including a £145.9mn DRDO missile testing Centre in Krishna district; a £10mn PM Unity Mall at Visakhapatnam; a £29.3mn Guntakal–Mallappa Gate rail overbridge; and six new national highway projects worth £317.6mn.
Welcoming Modi, Naidu extended his full support to Modi in the wake of the Pahalgam attack. Modi praised Naidu for his role in advancing India’s IT landscape. “When I was Gujarat CM, I used to observe CM Chandrababu Naidu,” Modi said. The Prime Minister highlighted how Naidu’s early efforts in Hyderabad’s IT sector inspired his own initiatives as Gujarat’s CM.
“In this nation, when it comes to executing large-scale projects, completing them quickly, and ensuring top-notch quality, there is no one better than Chandrababu,” he stated, backing the TDP-led NDA government’s efforts to build the Amaravati capital city as quickly as possible.
“Today, I stand on the sacred land of Amaravati. When I look at Amaravati, it doesn’t feel like just a city - it feels like a dream coming true. It feels like a new Andhra Pradesh, a new Amaravati. Today, we have laid the foundation and inaugurated work worth around £6bn. NTR dreamt of a developed Andhra Pradesh. We must fulfill NTR’s dreams. Together with Chandrababu and Pawan Kalyan, we must do it - and we will do it,’’ Modi said.
