In a great relief to Andhra Pradesh Government, World Bank cleared loan for a tune of Rs4,700 crore for the development of green field capital ‘Amaravati’ under ‘Sustainable City Development Project’. In recent days many complaints flooded to World Bank on the name of farmers on many issues like environmental clearances against Andhra Pradesh Government and requested World Bank not to sanction loan.
World Bank team sat with Capital Region Development Agency authorities and got clarified all objections raised in the complaints like protection of local streams i.e. Kondaveeti Vagu etc. On satisfying with clarifications given by the State Government, World Bank cleared loan application of AP Government.
State’s Energy, Infrastructure and Investment Department Principal Secretary Ajay Jain, CRDA Commissioner Dr Cherukuri Sridhar informed CM Nara Chandra Babu Naidu about World Bank clearance. Naidu discussed with officers on nature of complaints knocked the doors of World Bank for the first time. He opined that the complaints are politically motivated to malign State Government before World Bank. He directed officers to enquire into all complaints to take legal action against faulty ones with mala fide intentions.
Besides complaints, World Bank has sought many other clarifications from CRDA officials before clearing the Project loan. The queries were such as to how the AP Government will repay the hefty loan and by what time would the permanent government complex be ready, the financial viability of the capital city project and the solubility of the AP State Capital Region Development Authority etc. The team mainly insisted about the Government of India funding for permanent government complex construction. Sources said the team of World Bank satisfied with reports submitted by CRDA.
State Government proposed to spend Rupees 32,500 crores in the next four years to build Greenfield capital city, Amaravati. World Bank, Hudco and Andhra Bank together agreed to source Rupees 17,500 crores in different stages for capital construction. Wherein Hudco is going to fund upto Rupees 7000 crores. Naidu directed officials to scout for International Funding Agencies like Asian Development Bank for remaining funds on lowest interest rates. He also suggested to consult Corporate giants like GE, Tesla, IBM, Google, Microsoft, Apple etc. to partner with Amaravati construction for economic development and employment generation. Officers informed Naidu about the chances of pension funds and sovereign funds on low-cost funding for capital building.
State Government is proposed to spend Rupess 3,287 crores for power infrastructure, Rupees 4,967 crores for roads, Rupees 1,000 crores for flood management, Rupees 750 crores for drinking and sewerage facilities, Rupees 519 crores for infrastructure in the villages of the capital city, Rupees 250 crores for greenery, officials of CRDA told.
