A CAPITAL SPREADS ITS WINGS

FROM INFRASTRUCTURE AND EXPORTS TO IT & TECH, VISAKHAPATNAM IS SPEEDING ON THE GROWTH PATH, SPURRED BY THE PROSPECT OF BEING ANDHRA PRADESH'S EXECUTIVE CAPITAL

- Amarnath K. Menon

VISAKHAPATNAM IS HEADED for a new tryst with destiny. The city-which has evolved more by accident than by design, wedged between the Bay of Bengal and hills on the other side-was declared the new capital this January as part of the state government's tri-capital plan. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy announced in March that Visakhapatnam will be the executive capital of Andhra Pradesh from September, with the state's administration shifting its headquarters from Amaravati, which serves as the current capital. On July 11, the Supreme Court put off the hearing against the tri-capital plan until December, which may force the CM to defer his moves to early 2024.

On May 3, Reddy green-flagged work for an international airport at Bhogapuram, which is being developed by the GMR Group, and for the Adani Integrated Data Centre and Technology Business Park to spur the information technology industry. "Andhra Pradesh, with its advantages of land for renewable energy and a long coastline, is well positioned to host data centre parks not only for our country but also for nations that are short of land or energy," declared Adani Group chief Gautam Adani on the occasion.

To realise the state government's new capital plan, a 500,000 sq. ft secretariat is to be built with all modern facilities, including a helipad. A metro rail transport system will reduce traffic congestion. These new projects will come up in the northernmost part of the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) area, as recommended by the G.N. Rao committee on decentralised development.

CORE STRENGTHS

It was Sir C.R. Reddy who gave Visakhapatnam the cognomen 'City of Destiny' nearly a century ago. The founding vice chancellor of Andhra University, Sir Reddy had shifted its campus from Bezawada (now Vijayawada) to the port city in 1926, setting the pace for its growth. Now, the city seems on steroids.