Vijayawada: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured all support for the development of greenfield Amaravati capital which, he said, is not mere a city, but a dream come true.

“It will emerge as a strong force with development in all sectors including information technology, AI, green energy, education and healthcare sectors with full support from the Central government,” the PM said, adding that the new capital city will transform Andhra Pradesh into a modern and developed state.

Speaking at a public meeting here after relaunching the construction works of Amaravati capital, PM Modi described Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu as the best example for vision and development. “I used to observe the IT development programmes of CM Chandrababu Naidu in united Andhra Pradesh when I was serving as Gujarat Chief Minister,” he said. On the occasion that saw the rebooting of AP’s capital dreams, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation for several projects including capital works.

Governor S Abdul Nazeer, Deputy C Pawan Kalyan, Education Minister Nara Lokesh, Union ministers Bhupatiraju Srinivas Varma, Pemmasani Chandrasekar and K Rammohan Naidu, several ministers, MLAs and MLCs and a large number of people participated in the much-awaited relaunch event, daring the scorching heat. Modi said the capital construction works will fuel the growth of AP’s economy. "Today, projects worth Rs 60,000 crore have been launched. These projects are not just concrete structures, but they are a strong foundation of the ambitions of Andhra Pradesh and Viksit Bharat," he said.

"We all know the name of Indralok capital was Amaravati and now Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh. This is not just a coincidence. This is a good sign for the construction of Swarna Andhra," the PM further said, referring to the TDP-led NDA government's ambitious target to transform the state into a $2.4 trillion economy by 2047.

'Swarna Andhra' will strengthen the path of Viksit Bharat and Amaravati will give energy to its vision,” he said. "I would like to reassure the people of Andhra Pradesh, and my associates who are sitting here that you will always find me with you for the development of Andhra Pradesh," he added. Further, referring to the iconic former Chief Minister N T Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR, he said the late leader had dreamt of a developed Andhra Pradesh. "We have to work unitedly to make Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh the growth engine of Viksit Bharat," Modi said. "We have to fulfil NTR's dream. Chandrababu, brother Pawan Kalyan, we have to do it, and we only have to do it," he said.

As part of resuming the construction of Amaravati, the PM laid the foundation stone for 74 projects worth Rs 49,000 crore, which encompassed the construction of the Assembly, Secretariat and High Court buildings and judicial residential quarters, along with housing buildings for 5,200 families.

Further, the PM assured the people of AP that the Polavaram project would be completed to benefit farmers in a big way. He said the Railways play a very important role in the development of the nation and the Central government is focusing on the development of railways and associated infrastructure facilities. He said the electrification works of the Railways had been completed in Andhra Pradesh.

Modi further said Andhra Pradesh played a vital role in the development of space technology and ISRO located at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh contributed in a big way in the progress of space technology. He said the Nava Durga Missile Testing Centre to be built at Nagayalanka in Krishna district will further strengthen the country’s defence sector.