Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s return to the hot seat in Andhra Pradesh has put the development of Amaravati, the proposed new state capital, into top gear. During his previous tenure, 24,000 farmers had pooled 35,000 acre, approximately 142 sq km of land for his dream city slated to span 217 sq km, well positioned between the state’s nodal urban centres of Vijayawada and Guntur.

Naidu is known to appreciate Singapore’s “sustainable and liveable” features. So, nearly a decade ago, his TDP government had turned to Surbana Jurong of Singapore for the city’s three-part masterplan. About one-third of the capital area was proposed to be dedicated to residential spaces. Further, 30 per cent was proposed for parks and open spaces, 13 per cent for roads and infrastructure (covering 600 km by 2050), 11 per cent for commercial establishments, 10 per cent for special developments, and 4 per cent for industrial use.