AP ministers react to capital project's scrapping

With the Andhra Pradesh government and a Singapore consortium scrapping the proposed multi-billion-dollar capital city Amaravati project on "mutual consent", two state ministers on Wednesday cited reasons that led to such a developement.

Finance Minister Rajendranath noted that development of 1700 acres alone, out of the one lakh-acre capital region, was not only not an easy task but also impossible.

At least Rs 2 lakh crore is required to develop the one lakh acres.

Unless that much amount is spent and the whole area developed, there is no meaning having a business district within it, he pointed out.

The project will take decades and decades to complete.Neither time nor the finances permit it, he added.

The capital city, initially estimated to cost SGD15 billion, was the brainchild of former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who lost power in the assembly elections this year.

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Tuesday the decision was based on "mutual consent" between the Andhra Pradesh State government and the Singapore consortium, consisting of Ascendas Singapore, which is now part of CapitaLand Group, and Sembcorp Development.

The decision to close the Amaravati Capital City Start-Up Area project was made by Andhra Pradesh, headed by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a government order on Monday.

The project was formally scrapped with the state Cabinet on October 30 deciding to terminate the agreement with the consortium.

The project which envisaged the development of the start-up area in the state's capital city remained a non-starter in the last 30 months since the previous Chandrababu Naidu government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Singapore consortium, raising doubts over its prospects, particularly with a change of guard in the state.

It was the first major real-estate venture that the previous TDP government had undertaken under the Public- Private Partnership mode and selected the Singapore consortium of Ascendas-Singbridge and SembcorpDevelopment through the controversial Swiss Challenge method as the Master Developer.

Andhra Pradesh Municipal Administration Minister Botcha Satyanarayana claimed on Wednesday that everybody was opposed to the Swiss Challenge and the manner in which the project was awarded.

"Even the High Court found fault with the Swiss Challenge method, he said.