New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Friday and invited him for the groundbreaking ceremony of the renewed Rs 65,000-crore Amaravati capital city project scheduled for May 2.

During the brief meeting, Naidu also discussed the recent terrorist attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 people, mostly tourists, and injured several others on Tuesday, sources said.

He informed the prime minister that two people from Andhra Pradesh — S Madhusudhan Rao, a software engineer, and J S Chandramouli, a retired bank employee — were among those killed in the attack.

In a social media post, Naidu said that during his meeting with the prime minister, he expressed solidarity with the Centre in the fight against terrorism.

“The horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam has left the nation anguished. No amount of condemnation is enough for such cowardly violence.

“The government and the people of Andhra Pradesh stand united with the families of the victims. We pledge our full support to PM Modi Ji’s decisive leadership in safeguarding India’s security,” Naidu said in the post.

Naidu revived the Amaravati city project — the new capital of Andhra Pradesh on the banks of the Krishna River — after returning to power in the state in 2024.

The project remained stalled between 2019 and 2024.

The chief minister aims to build a world-class, inclusive and modern urban hub inspired by global cities such as Amsterdam, Singapore and Tokyo.

Amaravati was designated as the new capital following Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation in 2014.

The Amaravati Master Plan, crafted by UK-based firm Foster and Partners, envisions development over a 217.23 sq km area between Vijayawada and Guntur towns.

The city is expected to create 1.5 million jobs, house 3.5 million people, and have a GDP of USD 35 billion by 2050.

Officials said the estimated budget for Amaravati’s development works as determined in 2024 is about Rs 64,910 crore, with Phase-1 to be completed over the next three years.

The Government of India has committed Rs 15,000 crore in financial assistance and facilitated World Bank and Asian Development Bank support totalling USD 1.6 billion.

The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) is designing branding programmes to attract anchor investors and private sector participation.

Public-private partnership projects are being promoted, with a special purpose vehicle envisioned to meet viability gap funding. PTI LUX ARI ARI