World Bank issues a statement on Andhra Pradesh capital Amaravati

The World Bank, after dropping the $300 million worth financial aid to Amaravati, has issued a statement on its ongoing partnership with Andhra Pradesh. In the statement, the World Bank stated that on 15 July, the Government of India (GoI) withdrew its request to the World Bank for financing the proposed Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project.

“The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has been informed that the proposed project is no longer under preparation following the government’s decision,” the statement read. The World Bank, however, noted that it continues to extend support to Andhra Pradesh in areas of health, agriculture, energy and disaster management among others.

The World Bank continues to support the state of Andhra Pradesh with over $1 billion program that covers the health, agriculture, energy and disaster management sectors. This includes a new $328 million support to the state’s health sector signed with the Government of Andhra Pradesh on June 27, 2019.

The World Bank has had a long and productive partnership with the state of Andhra Pradesh. The state has pioneered some remarkable development innovations, such as the women’s self-help group movement, that other countries have learned from. The World Bank is proud to have collaborated on these programs, and to have helped carry these examples to the rest of the world.

As the new government sets its development priorities, we stand ready to provide whatever support the state and the Government of India might request,” the statement by World Bank added.

On 18 July, the World Bank website had shown the status of the financial aid to Amaravati as “dropped”. This led to a blame game between the ruling YSRCP, led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, and the opposition TDP, led by former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.