New Delhi, May 2: Andhra Pradesh’s long-stalled dream capital, Amaravati, received a dramatic revival as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, flanked by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, launched a suite of infrastructure projects worth over ₹58,000 crore.
The high-profile ceremony marked a symbolic return for Mr Naidu, long awaited Amaravati’s vision, and signalled the BJP-led Centre’s full-throated backing for his second innings. Standing on what he called “the sacred land of Amaravati,” PM Modi cast the occasion as not just an infrastructure push but the rebirth of a dream. “Amaravati is not just a city,” he said, “it is a force that will transform Andhra Pradesh into a modern, advanced state.”
He praised its blend of “Buddhist peace” and “development energy,” calling it the foundation of a new “Swarna Andhra.”
The Prime Minister laid foundation stones and inaugurated projects across a range of sectors—from roads and railways to government buildings and defence. These include a missile test range at Nagayalanka, a PM Ekta Mall in Visakhapatnam to showcase Indian handicrafts, and new national highways to ease access to religious sites like Tirupati.
Most politically significant, however, was the relaunch of Amaravati as Andhra Pradesh’s administrative capital.
The Centre will fund the construction of the High Court, Assembly, Secretariat, and Raj Bhavan—structures once left in limbo after Naidu’s successor, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, shifted the capital’s focus away from Amaravati. PM Modi underlined that the state’s development had now picked up speed “with Naidu’s leadership,” a rare personal endorsement.
Naidu, who originally unveiled Amaravati as a world-class capital in 2015 with PM Modi by his side, finds himself back where he began, this time with far stronger central support. The return of his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to power, in alliance with the BJP and Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, has rekindled the project’s ambitions after nearly a decade of limbo and legal wrangling.
The numbers are eye-catching: ₹11,240 crore for administrative buildings and housing, ₹17,400 crore for flood mitigation and trunk infrastructure, and ₹20,400 crore for the Land Pooling Scheme, altogether promising a 320-km transport network with modern utilities, flood controls, and wide roads with cycle tracks. PM Modi also announced a ₹1,460 crore missile testing range to be developed by DRDO at Nagayalanka, dubbed the Nava Durga Testing Range. It adds to Andhra’s growing profile as a strategic state in India’s defense infrastructure. The Prime Minister hailed the project as a “force multiplier” for national security. The relaunch of Amaravati is as much about image as infrastructure. For Chandrababu Naidu, the site once symbolised his grandest aspirations, and his undoing. Now, with Modi’s political and fiscal backing, he has a second chance to realise his vision. Whether the dream capital rises this time will depend on more than concrete; it will depend on political will and administrative continuity.
