Govt. plans to complete Visakha Metro project in three years: Narayana

State Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development P Narayana has said that the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project is under active consideration of the Central government.

Addressing the media in Visakhapatnam on March 15, Narayana said: “RITES firm is conducting a study on the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project, and the process is expected to be completed in two months. We aim to accelerate the pace of work and complete the project in three years.”

On the urban infrastructure development, Narayana said: “The government’s primary objective is to mobilise investments for the development of urban infrastructure and to enhance the capacity of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The government is initiating various measures to ensure the comprehensive development of urban areas.”

With the support of the Central government, a regional workshop was being organised under the Urban Investment Window initiative, bringing together representatives from Andhra Pradesh, along with those from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala, he said noting that discussions at this forum focus on key aspects such as mobilising necessary funds for urban infrastructure development through capital markets, and leveraging municipal bonds and other investment opportunities. He further remarked that such workshops would prove immensely beneficial in helping Urban Local Bodies overcome the challenges they face in designing development projects and mobilising financial resources.

Alleging abnormal delay in taking up housing projects during the tenure of the previous government, the Minister said the present government was taking measures to complete the housing projects initiated earlier.

“Work on thousands of houses is already underway, and the government has set a target to complete approximately 2.60 lakh houses by the end of June,” said the Minister.
Narayana also announced that steps were afoot to develop a semi ring road for Visakhapatnam on the lines of the Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad. The VMRDA was currently examining the project, he added.

Also read: Minister inspects work on Bhogapuram airport connecting roads

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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu