Amaravati: The Building of Andhra’s New Capital

The model of Amaravati will be an epitome of world-class smart city where city planners have incorporated many ideas including transit oriented development, modern waste collection and disposal mechanisms and maintaining the ecological balance with green spaces which will provide high quality living for its occupants

Amaravati has been envisioned as a world-class smart city which is being built on the banks of the river Krishna. After the acquisition of 32,000 acres of land from farmers by the N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati is geared up to become a well-planned smart capital city. Maintaining the equilibrium between farmers and the government Mr Naidu said, “We made them partners in the capital project under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) by returning developed plots of 1,000 sq. yards for residential use and 250 sq. yards and 400 sq. yards for commercial use for farmers of dry and wet lands respectively, for every acre taken away.”

The city will be an epitome of world-class infrastructure and efficient resource management that will provide high quality living for its occupants. The new city is being constructed at an expected cost of 1 trillion rupees on 217.23 square kilometers and is expected to generate jobs to sustain a population of 9-12 million people in the surrounding capital region.

For this project Singapore, China and Japan became source of inspiration and finally the core capital master plan’s work was given to a Singapore firm – SurbanaJurong Private limited and the design to Japanese company Maki and associates for the 16.9 sq.km core capital formation. The master plan is divided into 3 parts by Surbana Jurong Private Limited. It also drew on Singapore’s expertise and experience in urban planning and governance and project execution. The Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise have begun to provide capacity development training in various areas for Andhra Pradesh government officials who will be involved in the development of Amaravati and the capital region.

According to the master plan for the seed capital area (SCA), the core city will be spread over 16.9 sq.km and the development of the city will be completed in five stages by four different departments. Gateway, Down-town, Government core and Water-front are the four departments to carry out the respective developments.

Amaravati Downtown: The Amaravati Downtown as per Amaravati Seed Capital Area Master Plan is the commercial heart of the capital city which has the best access through public transit.

Amaravati Gateway: The eastern entry to the city is from the semi express way connecting Gannavaram Airport to the City. As per Amaravati Seed Capital Area Master Plan, this node will create the first impression of the Capital City because it forms the gateway to the city. It has been designed in a way to create the necessary impact that one needs to feel while entering the Capital City. The bridge is designed in itself to become a symbol of the city to welcome the arrivals.

Amaravati Government Core: The government core is probably the most important area of the Capital City. This area will cover 16.7 sq.km and comprise the AP Legislative assembly, Legislative council, High court, Secretariat, Raj Bhawan, quarters for ministers and officials, and the township for government officials. The seed capital area (SCA) will be home for about three lakh residents. The business hub is expected to generate seven lakh jobs in various sectors including government.Phase one of Amaravati Seed Capital Area Master Plan is completion of Amaravati Government core which includes Assembly, Secretariat, civic plaza, city gallery, state ministries and government housing.

Amaravati waterfront: In Amaravati Seed Capital Area Master Plan, Amaravati waterfront is envisioned as an active public waterfront with large public buildings which will attract people to the waterfront. The Amaravati plaza is a grand plaza that will be a multipurpose space housing activities such as waterfront amphitheaters, traditional street hawkers, etc. in order to create an interesting yet compatible mix of activities.Amaravati will possess a distinctive river front with lush open spaces for its citizens to enjoy. Innovative approaches are envisaged to turn the reservoirs, storm water detention ponds and canals into locales for public enjoyment even as they perform the critical functions of storing water and controlling flooding. This includes iconic towers, waterfront commercial, Amaravati flyer, promenade, performing arts theatre, convention center and indoor sports center.

Amaravati’s model comprises nine cities – knowledge city, health city, financial city, tourism city, government city, sports city, electronics city, justice city and education city. The capital city has been planned for about 500,000 residents. Its first phase is expected to be completed by 2018.

City planners have incorporated many ideas including transit oriented development, modern waste collection and disposal mechanisms and maintaining the ecological balance with green spaces. A regional expressway and an outer regional expressway will connect various towns to the core capital region. A dedicated freight corridor will connect with highways leading to New Delhi via Hyderabad. National waterway 4 proposed to be developed on Wazirabad-Vijayawada-Rajahmundry-Kakinada routes connecting other places via rivulets and canals. An airport planned at Mangalagiri and 5 corridors will have high speed railways.

The six key factors taken into consideration for this master plan are “providing jobs and homes, world class infrastructure, quality living, protecting identity and heritage and resource management and environment”. To provide and enhance mobility and accessibility to the citizens, the master plan provides a transport hierarchy that comprises of an integrated network of metro rail of about 12 kms, bus rapid transit of about 15 kms, downtown road of about 7 kms, arterial roads and sub-arterial roads of about 26 kms and collector roads of about 53 kms with varying broad right-of-way.
Laying emphasis on sustainability, renewable energy too occupies a place in Amravati smart city model. The city is being planned on sustainable development principles, extensive large open green spaces have been planned that shall add value to the urban ecosystem. Recognizing the unique value of Amaravati’s location beside the Krishna River, the master plan preserves much of the existing greenery and waterways, while introducing new parks, gardens and recreational facilities such as a cricket stadium. The landscape would create world class aesthetic appeal to make the city livable and attractive. Special emphasis has been laid to enhance development of extensive walkways and pedestrianisation interlinked with open and green spaces with a blue and green network of more than 25 kms to promote walk-to-work environment and non-motorized transport.

Giving the example of Astana, Kazaksthan’s capital, Dr Sreedhar Cherukuri, Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh Capital Regional Development Authority (CRDA) said, “It took 12 years for Astana, Kazaksthan’s capital, to grow up to supporta 1.2 million population. Our Chief Minister is targeting to reach this level in five to seven years. Our biggest challenge is to make 1 million population live in Amaravati city in the next seven years.”

He said, “Funding for the capital city is not an issue. Around six to seven proposals from multilateral agencies are in an advanced stage. International collaboration is also being worked out. We have HUDCO, World Bank, ADB, AIB and BRICS proposals. China and the UK are showing interest. A French delegation has also come and met us. They expressed their interest to provide technical assistance as well as execute public transportation, water and sewerage, energy as well as smart city solutions. Additionally, the French Development Agency has expressed its keenness to fund key public transport systems and focus infrastructure projects in Amaravati.”

Return of farmer’s plots, developing critical infrastructure like roads, water supply, power in the entire capital city, developing internal amenities in neighbourhood (plots given to farmers) and getting economic value to the city are among CRDA’s priorities.
“We have already allotted land to Vellore Institute of Technology, Indo UK Hospital and Tirumula Tirupati Devasthanams for the setting up of a replica of Tirumala temple. Around 900 acre of land is allocated for government complexes,” Dr Sreedhar said.