Chasing A Capital Dream

Chandrababu Naidu Aims to Make Proposed New Capital Amaravati a Modern, Compelling Destination for Global Investments and Talent

- Amarnath K. Menon

My goal in this lifetime is to build up Amaravati as one of the world’s best cities. Ours will be a happy city, and one of the most livable,” declared Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on July 15, while laying the foundation stone for SRM University, the first private varsity to commission a campus in the upcoming capital city. US firm Perkins & Will, who have done projects for several renowned US universities, are the master architects, while Sandeep Tiwari, a Cornell University ex-dean, will be the vice-chancellor.

“Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) will come where there is Saraswati (the goddess of education),” added ex-Union minister and vice-presidential candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu. The campus, a Rs 3,024 crore project, is being envisioned as a public-private partnership model and will open in Neerukonda. Others, including VIT University, Amrita University and the Indo-UK Institute of Health Care are to follow as vital institutions in the education hub of the fledgling capital.

“Education, health and industry are our primary targets for the new Amaravati,” says CM Naidu. The imperative is clear. The state’s resource crunch is because it does not have a capital like Hyderabad in contiguous Telangana. “Revenue resources will not improve without large cities. This is why we are developing nine sectors or theme cities, including ones for administration, finance, electronics, health, sports, within Amaravati,” says Naidu.