Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravati to get an Astana twist

Hyderabad: Impressed by Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, which he visited recently, AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is likely to bring some changes in the construction plan of the capital Amaravati.  

He wants that Amaravati, like Astana, should mix its zones. In the present Amaravati city plan, all government offices are to be located at one zone with no residential or commercial activities. But, according to this plan, after office hours there will be no activity; it will have a deserted look.

In Astana, all the government offices are not constructed at one place. After office hours there is much activity in this zone. On the lines of Astana, Mr Naidu wants mixed zones with full activity after office hours also. He wants to change the present plan and allow residential apartments or individual houses and also commercial activity in the government offices zone.

During his Kazakhstan visit Mr Naidu toured Astana and held discussions with Astana Mayor Asset Lssekeshav. He said that AP wants to work with Astana in the construction of Amaravati city.

Mr Naidu also proposed to prepare a road map on cooperating with Astana to build Amaravati. Both Mr Naidu and the Astana Mayor decided to set up a working group with 5 members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his visit of Astana last year had advised Mr Naidu to visit this city.

The parking system also attracted Mr Naidu. In Astana, all offices have underground parking facility and no vehicle is parked in front of any office.

AP government, adviser (communications)  Parakala Prabhakar who was also in the CM’s delegation to Kazakhstan and Russia, said Mr Naidu was very much impressed by Astana and appreciated the way the city was constructed.

Speaking to this newspaper Mr Prabhakar said there was a possibility of Mr Naidu making some changes to the Amaravati city plan. He said that Astana would have an impact on Amaravati’s planning.