Andhra Pradesh

Revealed : The reason Singapore Consortium did not start work in Amaravati

The decision of the Singapore Consortium and the Andhra Pradesh government to call off the proposal to develop the core capital area has upset Chandrababu Naidu. But those familiar with the project details have told Filter Kaapi that no work was undertaken by the Singapore companies. And the reason for this was reportedly political.

“They were waiting to see the results of the 2019 elections and just dragged their feet without doing any work on the ground. They wanted to go ahead with the project only if the party that came to power in 2019 wanted it. Now that the YSRCP government does not want it, they do not lose anything as no investment was made on the ground,” a senior IAS officer in the government who was part of the interaction with the Singapore Consortium told Filter Kaapi.

What it reveals is that the Singapore consortium was well aware of the political differences between the Telugu Desam and the YSRCP over the future of Amaravati and did not wish to put in money on the ground without being sure of who will be in power till 2024. With the YSRCP government making its reluctance clear, the project was off the table.

Financing such a project was not feasible was the opinion of the state government. Finance minister B Rajendranath said, “After discussions, it was found that 1700 acres is a small part of the huge city that was proposed to be developed. The huge city is about 217 sq km, roughly two times the size of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.”

Both parties do not stand lose much beyond Rs 7 crore, the initial investment that was made. If the decision had not been taken by mutual consent, it could have led to litigation in courts abroad but now that both parties decided amicably, the withdrawal has taken place without any rancour. 

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