Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), May 2 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated and laid the foundation for projects worth Rs 58,000 crore here, which also included relaunching the construction of the greenfield capital city of Amaravati and assured full cooperation for the development of the southern state.

The Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation for 94 projects, including capital city institutions, national highways, railway upgrades and defence-related installations.

AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his deputy Pawan Kalyan among others were present.

“Today, projects worth Rs 60,000 crore have been launched. These projects are not just concrete structures but they are a strong foundation of the ambitions of Andhra Pradesh and Viksit Bharat,” he said.

“We all know Indralok’s capital name was Amaravati and now Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh. This is not just a coincidence. This is a good sign for the construction of Swarnaandhra,” he further said, referring to the TDP-led NDA government’s ambitious target to transform the state into a USD 2.4 trillion economy by 2047.

‘Swarnaandhra’ will strengthen the path of Viksit Bharat and Amaravati will give energy to its vision, he added.

Amaravati is not just a town but a Shakti, to transform Andhra Pradesh into a developed state.

“I would like to reassure the people of Andhra Pradesh, and my associates who are sitting here that you will always find me with you for the development of Andhra Pradesh,” Modi said.

Further, referring to the iconic former Chief Minister N T Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR, Modi said the later leader had dreamt of a developed Andhra Pradesh.

“We have to work unitedly to make Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh the growth engine of Viksit Bharat,” Modi said.

“We have fulfil NTR’s dream. Chandrababu, brother Pawan Kalyan, we have to do it and we only have to do it,” he said.

As part of resuming the construction of Amaravati, the PM laid the foundation stone for 74 projects worth Rs 49,000 crore, which encompassed the construction of the Assembly, Secretariat and High Court buildings and judicial residential quarters, along with housing buildings for 5,200 families.

He laid foundation for infrastructure and flood mitigation projects featuring a 320 km long world-class transport network with underground utilities and advanced flood management systems in the greenfield capital city.

The land pooling scheme infrastructure projects will cover 1,281 km of roads equipped with central medians, cycle tracks, and integrated utilities across the greenfield capital city of Amaravati.

Likewise, the PM laid the foundation for nine Central projects worth Rs 5,028 crore, such as DRDO’s missile testing centre (Rs 1,459 crore) at Nagayalanka in Krishna district, Unity mall in Vizag (Rs 100 crore), Guntakal–Mallappa Gate Rail overbridge (Rs 293 crore) and six national highway projects (Rs 3,176 crore).

The missile testing centre will comprise a launch centre, technical instrumentation facilities, indigenous radars, telemetry and electro-optical systems, enhancing the country’s defence preparedness.

The PM Ekta Mall or Unity mall at Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam has been envisioned with the objective of fostering national integration, supporting the Make in India initiative, promoting ‘One District One Product’ initiative, generating employment opportunities, empowering rural artisans, and enhancing the market presence of indigenous products.

The six national highway projects for which he laid the foundation include the widening of various sections of NH, construction of elevated corridor, half clover leaf and road over bridge among others. These projects will enhance connectivity, inter-state travel, reduce congestion and improve overall logistics efficiency.

Likewise, the construction of rail over bridge between Guntakal West and Mallappa gate stations aims to bypass goods trains and slash congestion at the Guntakal Junction.

Similarly, the PM dedicated three railway projects worth Rs 254 crore to the nation, which included doubling and tripling projects.

Further, Modi inaugurated eight national highway projects worth Rs 3,860 crore, which provide seamless connectivity to religious and tourist places like Tirupati, Srikalahasti, Malakonda and Udayagiri Fort among others. PTI STH GDK VVK SA