Andhra Pradesh plans to showcase its Capital skills in Amaravati to get poll gains

VIJAYAWADA: With the elections not too far away, the state government is keen on initiating as many works related to Amaravati as possible in 2018. One such work is related to the Start-up area in the capital which is aimed at kick-starting economic activity in Amaravati. As a part of this, the Singapore Consortium, which will develop the Start-up area, is planning to launch ‘Phase Z.Ro’ (phase zero) in the next two months.

The ‘Phase Z.Ro’ is an initial round of development of Start-up area before the actual work takes off. “The zero phase is where work will be launched in seven acres through which the Singapore Consortium’s capabilities and innovative technologies will be showcased. We are planning to launch the work at the earliest, preferably by April or so,” said a senior official of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA).

It may be recalled that the State Government faced criticism for appointing Singapore Consortium -- which consists of Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Pte. Ltd -- for capital development through Swiss Challenge method.

Officials from Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC) will visit Singapore in the next 10 days to freeze the final plans.

“The specifics of what will be built in phase zero are being finalised as of now. The works will begin once the Singapore Consortium enters into an agreement with ADC to form a special purpose vehicle called Amaravati Development Partner (ADP). This is expected to happen in a month’s time,” said an official from ADC.

For the record, even though the state government had given Letter of Award to the consortium in May, 2017, works have not begun yet. One of the reasons for the delay, sources said, is the unavailability of road network in the capital region. “That is the reason, we are asking the contractors to complete the roads leading to the Start-up area by the end of February or early March. This will help the Singapore firms to move their paraphernalia to begin the development,” the official explained.

CRDA commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar told TNIE that the Singapore Consortium, in the meanwhile, is mobilising finances. “It is in talks with various external funding agencies and meeting investors across the world. Two teams had visited Amaravati in July and August last year to market and promote the Start-up area,” he said.