Amaravati Capital City

Amaravati is the proposed greenfield capital city of Andhra Pradesh, located on the banks of the Krishna river in Guntur district. The project was sanctioned in 2014 immediately after Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation (Telangana split off carrying the previous capital Hyderabad), with then-CM Chandrababu Naidu's TDP government announcing Amaravati as a 'world-class capital'.

The masterplan covers 217 sq km, designed by Foster + Partners and Maki and Associates (Tokyo). Phase 1 included 33,000 acres acquired from farmers under a unique 'land pooling' scheme — farmers exchanged agricultural land for residential + commercial plots in the planned city. Foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Modi in October 2015, with ambitious targets for ministry buildings, an Assembly complex, a high court, and an integrated business district.

The project went through extreme political turbulence: in 2019, the YSRCP government under Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy halted Amaravati construction and proposed a 'three capital' model (legislative in Visakhapatnam, executive in Amaravati, judicial in Kurnool). Construction was effectively frozen for 5 years, with substantial completed infrastructure (CM's residence, Secretariat building shells) left abandoned. The 2024 election restored TDP-led NDA government (under N. Chandrababu Naidu) which has revived the original Amaravati-only capital plan.

The revived 2024+ build-out targets ₹51,000 crore for completing Phase 1 by 2028, including: complete Vidhan Sabha building, integrated Secretariat (15+ ministry buildings), High Court complex, MLA-MLC quarters (1,500 units), integrated central business district (CBD), and full trunk infrastructure (water + sewerage + power + roads). World Bank has financed ~$300 million for the revived urban infrastructure works.