Foundation for permanent Andhra Secretariat to be laid in Amaravati on Dec 27

Close to five years after bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh's capital Amaravati will get its first permanent building, the foundation for which will be laid by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on December 27. The Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) and Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC) have been tasked with ensuring that the work is carried out swiftly by continuously monitoring the progress of the construction.

“The Secretariat building will have many unique features. It will be 212 metres high, spread across 41 acres (69.8 lakh sft) with five towers, built at a cost of ₹4,890 crore. Creating social infrastructure and generating employment opportunities besides building Amaravati government complex are priorities. We need to provide a boost to trade, investments and economy for people to move in quickly. My goal is to ensure that the fruits of economic development in Amaravati should reach people of all the 13 districts in the state,” Naidu was quoted as saying, while addressing a meeting on Tuesday.

“I am happy to be the part of history and laying raft foundation for the world’s tallest five-towered secretariat building. This may be a new record in India,” Naidu added.

Others who were part of the meeting included CRDA Commissioner Ch Sreedhar, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister P Narayana, ADC Chairperson Lakshmi Parthasarathy, Principal Secretary Ajay Jain and Chief Secretary Satish Chandra.  

It was in December last year, that the Andhra Pradesh cabinet finalised the 'tower design' for the upcoming Assembly building in its capital Amaravati, after zeroing down on two designs, created by architecture firm Foster + Partners.

The event to lay the foundation of the Secretariat building also comes days after YSRCP chief YS Jaganmohan Reddy lashed out at Naidu and said that not even one permanent building had come up in the newly bifurcated state's capital, Amaravati, despite the ruling TDP making tall promises on building a world class capital.  

Stating that Naidu was only showing 'graphics' and 'movies' about the capital to the people of the state, Jagan said, "It has been close to five years, and not one permanent building has come up in the capital region. Wherever you see, only temporary buildings have come up, whether it is the Secretariat or the Assembly."