Andhra Pradesh government decides to shorten Anantapur-Amaravati expressway, saves Rs 3,500 crore

Andhra Pradesh: Ever since the YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy took over as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, he has been taking several steps to curb the squandering of funds without spending more than necessary. Off late, the government has decided to make changes to Anantapur - Amaravati Expressway construction to save public money.

It is known that during the TDP regime, it was announced that the Anantapur-Amaravati expressway would be constructed. The then government wanted to build this expressway parallel to the Kolkata-Chennai (NH16) road. However, the Jagan government has made changes in the construction of the expressway and directed that the Anantapur-Amaravati expressway should be constructed to connect with NH16 instead of a parallel one to NH16.

Moreover, the state government has sent proposals to the Center to this extent to which central government has given permission for it. In this order, another 47 km (formerly 101 km) in the area will be reduced and proposals to acquire 741 hectares of land will be withdrawn. With this the cost of Rs 3,500 crore will be saved for government. On the other hand, construction of Chilakaluri Peta Bypass has started at a cost of Rs 867 crore as part of this expressway.

The expressway is said to be constructed from Anantapur to Kadapa, Kurnool, Prakasam and Guntur districts. Although the then government estimated that the expressway would cost Rs 27,635 crore, the latest changes would generate a revenue of Rs 3,500 crore. The expressway will reduce the travel distance by 148 km and save 2 hours of travel time.