Andhra Pradesh: CM Chandrababu directs Officials to develop Amaravati as an AI hub

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], August 29 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has directed officials to design and plan the Amaravati capital city as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) City, an official statement said.
During a review meeting held on Thursday at the Secretariat with Municipal Administration Minister Narayana and CRDA officials, the Chief Minister emphasized that the Amaravati logo should symbolize AI.
He suggested that the Amaravati logo should incorporate the first letter "A" and the last letter "I" of the word "Amaravati" to represent the city's identity as an AI hub, according to the statement.
The Chief Minister insisted that the capital's infrastructure should prominently reflect technological advancements.
Chandrababu Naidu also criticized the previous government's mismanagement, which he claimed led to the derailment of the capital's development. He stressed the need to expedite the ongoing works to restore the capital's progress.
The meeting also reviewed the timelines for the completion of government building constructions, tender processes, and other related aspects.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that the CRDA office building, originally planned under the previous TDP government, had seen no significant progress since then. They assured him that the construction would now be completed within 90 days, and the new office would be made operational. The Chief Minister instructed the officials to use cutting-edge technology in building construction and to maintain high standards without compromising on quality, the press release informed.
Chief Minister also reviewed the HappyNest project initiated by the TDP government in the capital region. The project, designed to offer residential plots across 14 acres for those wishing to reside in the Amaravati capital area, was reportedly halted when the YSRCP government came to power in 2019.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that all plots were sold out within an hour when first launched. However, the subsequent government's decision to stop the project caused buyers to withdraw, resulting in significant financial losses for CRDA, the press release said.
The Chief Minister directed officials to formulate plans to recover the losses incurred due to the previous government's actions and to revive the HappyNest project. He was also briefed by the officials that 3,558 acres of land still needed to be acquired for the capital, with farmers from two villages within the capital region expressing willingness to offer their lands, the release said.
The Chief Minister suggested resolving any minor issues regarding the allocation of developed plots to these farmers and moving forward with the project.
During the review, the Chief Minister also discussed the ongoing jungle clearance work in the capital. Officials reported that 190 Hitachi machines were deployed to clear the jungle, with approximately 60% of the work completed. The Chief Minister suggested using technology, such as drones, to monitor and assess the progress of the clearance work.
CM Naidu directed officials to expedite the work on the metro rail projects planned for Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.
Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation MD Ramakrishna Reddy briefed the Chief Minister that the Visakhapatnam metro project would be undertaken in two phases, with Phase-1 covering 46 kilometres at a cost of Rs11,400 crores, and Phase-2 covering 30 kilometres with an estimated cost of Rs5,734 crores.
The Chief Minister instructed that the Phase-1 metro rail work should be completed within four years. Similarly, he directed the officials to speed up the 38-kilometre Vijayawada metro rail project, which is to be undertaken at a cost of Rs11,000 crores.