Amaravati development needs $2-4 trillion investment, says Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu

Mumbai: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said his government has envisaged an investment of $2-4 trillion for the development of Amaravati, the greenfield capital city. Addressing a gathering after listing the ‘Amaravati Bond’ on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday, he said raising funds is not a problem if there is proper decision making and execution mechanism in place. “Our infrastructure development plans need $2-4 trillion. Today the Centre is estimating only $1 trillion for infrastructure development. But for Amaravati, we do not see any problem in mobilising even $2-4 trillion,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_4484565” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of N Chandrababu Naidu Image Courtsey. Chandrababu Naidu. Twitter/@ncbn[/caption] “If there is no trust and no proper policy framework, there could be a problem (in raising funds). However, if we can do our work efficiently with proper execution, then there is no money constraint,” he added. It can be noted that the Andhra Pradesh government early this month had raised Rs 2,000 crore by way of issuance of ‘Amaravati Bond 2018’, which witnessed a record 1.53 times oversubscription. Naidu further said his government has always adopted new approaches to fast-track development and opened up new funding options for development of Amaravati. “The success of the Amaravati Bond 2018 reflects the investor confidence in my government and the development of Amaravati,” he added. He said Amaravati will be the most liveable place, having electric vehicles and self-sustained and green buildings with central cooling systems. Naidu further said the state economy should touch $1 trillion by 2029, and its GDP will increase at a CAGR of 12 percent for the next 15-20 years, compared with 10.5 percent at present. Speaking at the event, Andhra Pradesh State Planning Board vice-chairman Cherukuri Kutumba Rao said, “Only a small portion of Rs 2,000 crore in the entire project requirement of Rs 48,115 crore of Phase-I have been mobilised through bonds to support the financial requirement of Rs 10,000 crore within this financial year.” He added that the bond issue has received keen interest from retail investors both in India and abroad and it will soon finalise modalities to make retail investors partners in Amaravati development.