World Bank agrees to extend Rs 15k cr loan for capital Amaravati construction: CM Naidu

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday said that the World Bank has agreed to extend Rs 15,000 crore loan to the state government for the construction of the capital Amaravati and its work will start from December.

Addressing a press conference here, Naidu, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he met on Monday, said, the Centre has agreed to release Rs 12,500 crore towards the construction works of Polavaram project.

He further said oil and gas major Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd will be setting up a refinery with an investment outlay of Rs 85,000 crore in the state and the company is currently conducting a feasibility study into selecting the location.

The chief minister said he appraised the PM of "Swarna Andhra Pradesh 2047" vision document which is under preparation, aiming to make the state a USD 2.5 trillion economy with USD 40,000 per capita income.

"The World Bank has agreed to give Rs 15,000 crore for the construction of Amaravati capital phase-1. The work will start in December. We will work in a time-bound manner," Naidu said.

Replying to a query, he said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are engaged in talks to resolve pending issues.

He said the upcoming Visakhapatnam International Airport at Bhogapuram will be ready by December next year and the GMR group which is executing the project was asked to set up a "Civil Aviation University" in the vicinity.

"I have explained to the Prime Minister about the financial destruction that took place during the last five years. At the same time, I have informed him that the state is facing financial difficulties," he said.

The CM alleged that the previous YSRCP government failed to utilise the Central sponsored schemes and the funds given by the union government were diverted for other purposes. They have not given the utilisation certificates for the Central funds, resulting in a stoppage of fund flow, he said.

Naidu said due to laxity of the previous government as much as 85 lakh tons of garbage was piled up across the state, which the present regime started disposing of.

The Andhra CM said the Centre was requested to construct Greenfield Expressway between Vijayawada and Hyderabad and also a 185 km-long Outer Ring road at Amravati.

He said the union government is currently mulling various options for the survival of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

Naidu is currently in the national capital and met PM Modi and some of his Cabinet colleagues, including Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri.