WHY SHOULD VIZAG BE THE CAPITAL OF ANDHRA PRADESH?

TL;DR: Andhra Pradesh can't afford AMARAVATHI. Vizag already has existing infrastructure. AP needs CBN for both investments and capital.

Initially, choosing Amaravathi as the capital was a bad decision by the government. And then, the decision to have three capitals was even worse. Yet Vizag remains the best option for Andhra Pradesh.

First, we must understand the importance and role of a capital city for its citizens.

A capital is a city where a region's government is based. It contains government buildings and serves as the workspace for government leaders. This region could be a nation, state, or any other political unit.

The capital comprises buildings in which representatives from different government departments operate. This includes their living quarters, ensuring the continuous functioning of the government.

Why was Amaravathi a bad choice as the capital of the new state?

1. Amaravathi was an unsuitable choice due to the difficulty of starting from scratch. Constructing an ambitious and futuristic city like Amaravathi was an expense AP couldn't afford. Many countries announced similar projects and failed.
2. Egpyt’s New Administrative Capital City: The NAC is a large-scale infrastructure project. It's expected to cost around $40 billion and is four times the size of Washington, D.C. It has just completed 70% of the first phase by 2023, and they have already spent $32 Billion. And it is a four-phase plan.
3. Malaysia's Forest City: It is Malaysia's ambitious housing project. Now, it is being called a ghost city. now it is left with $200 Billion in debt ~ 16 Lakh crores(8 years Andhra Pradesh budget). Amaravati's plan was more grandeur than theirs, with much more to spend.

The initial cost estimation for Amaravathi was 27,000 crores in 2015. However, by 2019, the government had already expended 36,000 crores on the project to complete 40% of Phase 1.

Out of this expenditure, only 2,500 crores were used for land acquisition, and 1,600 crores were spent on the temporary secretariat, high court, and quarters.

This leaves a question: how can the remaining 32,000 crores be justified based on what's visible in Amaravathi? Even adjusting for 5 years of inflation, this would total 55,000 crores.

The government has borrowed thousands of crores from banks via bonds and loans at unsustainable interest rates of 8-10%. The interest alone for these 30,000 crores will amount to 2,500 crores annually.

At this pace, the cost for basic infrastructure could reach up to 1 lakh crore, and the total project cost could exceed 15 lakh crores over the years, considering inflation. In this scenario, the entire budget would be insufficient to cover the interest alone.

So, considering our current government freebie manifestos, If the government persists in developing Amaravathi, it will likely fall into an unrecoverable debt trap without significant support from the central government.

Gujarat's GIFT City took two decades of work and immense support from the central government to become successful. Amaravathi needs much more than that.

WHY SHOULD VIZAG BE THE CAPITAL?

Simply put, it has existing infrastructure for IT, manufacturing, exports, defence and tourism.

Vizag is the largest city in Andhra Pradesh and the 14th largest city in India.

1. It's an established industrial hub with numerous IT and pharma companies, iron and aluminium industries, and Fintech Valley.
2. It has a natural deep harbour, Gangavaram port, the Hindustan Shipyard, and many public sector institutions like BHPV, a Steel plant, IOC hub, NTPC, and headquarters for the Eastern Naval Command.
3. Vizag is also an excellent tourist destination, boasting some of the best beach resorts and nearby tourist sites like Borra caves, Araku Valley, and Lambasingi hill station, which experiences snowfall. It hosts religious tourist sites like Simhachalam as well.
4. The city is home to many reputed educational institutions like Andhra University, IIM-Vizag, GITAM University, Indian Maritime University, NIO, IIPE, etc.

Though it is at the risk of natural calamities, the city can be planned better with experience from Chennai, Kerala and many countries in the West.

So, the AP government should focus on developing Vizag as the capital city and Amaravathi as a special futuristic project with limited funds to ensure sustainable and gradual growth.

More than a new capital, a new state needs policy innovation across sectors. Governments should attract diverse investments into the state.

Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu has shown his ability to do this by doing it in Hyderabad and organising meetings with sector heads, taking notes for policy creation, and establishing an organisation dedicated to policy research.

1. GFST(GLOBAL FORUM FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION): GFST is an organisation started by Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu for Policy Research for the sustainable transformation of economies and communities for well-being and happiness.
2. He met with heads from across sectors like logistics, data centres, consultants, investment bankers and many more prominent people. He talked about policy requirements and did policy research to develop the state better.
3. He was the first person to give Vision 2047; the central government drafted the entire marketing campaign around Vision 2047.
4. And there are a million other things he did right for Hyderabad to attract diverse investments across fintech, pharma, IT, etc and Amaravathi in setting up institutes, promoting the state, attracting investments, etc.

AP is set for success if he focuses less on Amaravathi and more on attracting investments.

Amaravathi Cost References:

https://crda.ap.gov.in/APCRDADOCS/DataModuleFIles/Reports/01~Amaravati Project Report Edition No4 Status Feb 2019.pdf

https://crda.ap.gov.in/APCRDADOCS/GOSACTSRULES/Capital City/01~174708022018MAUD_MS65.PDF

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/high-rises-six-lane-roads-how-amaravati-is-shaping-up-5573337/#:~:text=Officials said that the overall,undertaken and are under execution.

https://www.thenewsminute.com/andhra-pradesh/building-amaravati-dream-chasing-will-need-rs-30-lakh-cr-and-100-yrs-cm-jagan-167933

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/08/world/middleeast/egypt-new-administrative-capital.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67610677

CBN Refs:

https://gfst.in/

https://india100.co.in/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMVpkAyVykw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iHWXicczTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKOojGI5TpE