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Andhra government to rope in Singapore firm to develop Amaravati
Naidu met external affairs minister Jayashakar and made an appeal to approve the revival of the participation of Singapore in the development of Amaravati capital city
The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to bring back the Singapore consortium that was originally assigned to take up the construction of seed capital area in Amaravati during the earlier regime of Telugu Desam Party (government headed by N Chandrababu Naidu in 2018, people familiar with the matter said.
Naidu who was in New Delhi on Friday, met external affairs minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jayashakar and made an appeal to approve the revival of the participation of Singapore in the development of Amaravati capital city.
“The Centre has agreed in principle to give clearance for Singapore to take part in the tenders for Amaravati capital works,” TDP MP from Narasaraopet Lavu Krishnadevarayulu said.
In August, the Andhra Pradesh government’s Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) initiated preliminary talks with the Singapore government about developing the seed capital area in Amaravati.
In 2018, the APCRDA under the TDP government signed a concession and development agreement and a shareholding agreement with a Singapore consortium comprising Ascendas Singbridge Pte Ltd and Sembcorp Development Ltd, to develop the seed capital area in Amaravati, in the name of Amaravati Start-up Area Development Project.
The start-up area encompasses a total development land area of 6.84 sq km, slated for development in three phases spanning 20 years. However, even before the Singapore consortium initiated the project, there was a change of government in the state in May 2019.
The YSRCP government led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, which came to power in 2019, cancelled the agreement with the Singapore consortium, as the government had kept the Amaravati capital city project in cold storage.
Finally, the Singapore consortium, too, agreed to withdraw from the project voluntarily with some mutually agreed terms. On November 12, 2019, following the state government’s announcement to discontinue the start-up area development project, the Singapore consortium also formally announced the project’s closure.
Now that the TDP along with its allies is back to power in the state and has revived the Amaravati project, the Singapore government has evinced interest in reviving the seed capital area development project. However, it has to take part in the bidding again, tenders for which would be called in December.
