Amaravati, one of India’s newest Smart Cities, is the next riverfront capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati smart city is located on the southern banks of the River Krishna in Guntur and Krishna districts. The new city will cover an area of 217.23 sq. km., within the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. The foundation stone of the planned city was laid at Uddandarayunipalem village of Guntur district by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 October 2015. The cities of Guntur and Vijayawada are the major suburbs of the city.

The once capital of Satavahana kings, the city of Amaravati, with its glorious historical and cultural past, is all set to turn into a modern, cosmopolitan hub. Amaravati is envisioned to be the gateway to India on the east coast, with exclusive zones for commerce, trade, knowledge, medicine and tourism. Amaravati has four national highways – one national waterway, one railway route, a fast expanding airport and a seaport in the vicinity. Its smart city framework will include fibre optic connectivity and smart infrastructure systems. Property in Amaravati will be developed with functional as well as aesthetic factors. The development is also expected to raise the value of flats for sale in Vijayawada, Guntur and other nearby suburbs.

The construction of the new city covers 30 villages, spreading over 14, 200 hectares. Some of the world’s largest economies have been approached by the Andhra Pradesh Government with the aim to change the long coastline of Andhra Pradesh into a logistics hub of exports. Japan and Singapore governments will actively be participating in the building of the city. The special planning for the roads will ensure that they are broad, with ample space for pedestrians and cyclists. Downtown will be the central area, along with a Central Boulevard and Krishna Boulevard. Ground floor of Downtown will have restaurants, shopping malls, retail outlets and entertainment centres, and vehicles will not be allowed to the central junction. Mass Rapid Transports (MRT) will connect all buildings. The overall area of the seed capital will be about 16.9 square kilometres, with a capacity of accommodating 3,00,000 residents, and opportunities for 7,00,000 jobs in different sectors of the government.

The new infrastructure will look into making travelling around the city easy for its residents as well as tourists. There will be an integrated network of 12 km of Metro railways, 15 km of Bus Transit Systems, 7 km of Downtown paths, 26 km of arterial roads, and 53 km of collector roads. Similar to Chandigarh, Amaravati will be a planned, modern city.

Being a state capital, a smart city with a global outlook, the heart of education and a land of opportunities, Amaravati offers many reasons to invest in its future. With the vigorous planning behind building Amaravati into a modern, exotic and cosmopolitan empire, the city is on its way to prosperity and will take the state of Andhra Pradesh a long way toward the future.