Singapore govt was not only helping in constructing the Amaravathi

Singapore Minister of Trade and Industry S. Iswaran expressed confidence that significant progress would be achieved in the construction of Amaravati in six months starting with the seed capital consequent on the signing of two MoUs in his and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s presence here on Thursday.

The MoUs are the Concession and Development Agreement (CADA) and the Shareholder Agreement (SHA). SHA was signed by the Amaravati Development Corporation (ADC) and Singapore Amaravati Investment Holdings Ltd. (SAIH) and the CADA by the AP-Capital Region Development Authority, Amaravati Development Partners (ADC and Ascendas-Singbridge & Sembcorp Industries) and SAIH.

Mr. Iswaran said these pacts were essential to legally secure the many visions and plans and contracts worked out during the journey so far and they were part of the broader engagement between the Singapore and A.P. governments. He said the Amaravati Partnership Office established in Singapore and its Centre for Liveable Cities had been playing a significant role in bringing companies together and helping the A.P. government take Amaravati and the rest of the State forward on the industrial front, urban development, people-to-people relations, skill development, and several other areas.

Mr. Naidu said with the signing of the MoUs, the zero date had begun and insisted that development would be visible in the seed capital over the next three months to one year. Mr. Naidu said the Singapore government was not only helping in constructing the capital city but also in mobilising investments, adopting best practices in governance, skills and tourism development etc. as per the request made by the Andhra Pradesh government. He said what had so far happened was processing of the conceptual plans, to which the CADA and the shareholder agreements gave a fillip.

He said the government was seeking to get clearances for Singapore Airlines to operate flights between Vijayawada and Singapore, in a month.