Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) chairperson M V Pranav Gopal said that Rs 189 crore has been spent to develop the region in just 100 days.

Speaking on the occasion of completing 100 days in the office as chairperson, he said on Friday that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is keen in developing Visakhapatnam on all fronts and hence a host of projects have been launched.

In connection with this, multi-level car parking with an investment of Rs 87 crore, coastal erosion prevention project to the tune of Rs 200 crore, safe drinking water in parks for Rs 16 lakh, Rs 3.7 crore of Helicopter museum, among other projects, are in various stages of progress.

The Chief Minister plans to make Visakhapatnam a hub for tourism, IT and as financial capital, and a number of projects commenced to realise the targets set by the CM, the chairperson said.

Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan, IT minister Nara Lokesh and minister for municipal administration and urban development P Narayana directed the officials to plan projects, keeping the future of the region in view, Pranav Gopal said. For the first time, praja darbar was introduced to address issues related to VMRDA. The programme aided the general public to seek support and relief for the problems faced in VMRDA’s layouts, roads and parks, etc., he said.

VMRDA chairperson, commissioner K S Vishwanathan, JC K Ramesh and other officials received the complaints directly from the public. So far, 77 complaints were received through praja darbar. Of them, 50 complaints were sorted out, informedn the chairperson.