CBN: Building Amaravati to surpass Hyd

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said that Amaravati would be developed to surpass Hyderabad.

He said the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh was rebuilding Amaravati after five years of neglect. “Amaravati is poised to emerge as a capital city that surpasses even Hyderabad,” he said.

Naidu said by integrating technology, the government is undertaking the construction of a “Smart City" and a "Blue-Green" capital city.

The Chief Minister was addressing the South Asian Learning Summit 2026-Transforming AI at the Indian School of Business (ISB) here.

Chandrababu Naidu recalled the initiatives he had taken as the Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh between 1995 and 2004 for the development of Hyderabad as the IT hub.

“I visualised what the future is. I thought the knowledge economy was the future, and that was the decision in 1995. We had so many problems. I built brick by brick. I had several meetings, brainstorming sessions with industrialists and academicians,” he said, recalling his meeting with Bill Gates, which helped attract Microsoft to Hyderabad.

“We constructed the 'Cyber Towers' as a symbolic landmark for the IT revolution. This decision was driven solely by the objective of benefiting the public. Microsoft chose to establish its presence in Hyderabad, bypassing cities like Bengaluru and Chennai. For three decades now, we have been witnessing the tangible results of those initiatives. As part of this broader vision, we also secured the establishment of the Indian School of Business (ISB),” he said

Naidu noted that ISB has earned a stellar reputation as an exceptional business school. The 'Genome Valley' project also came into existence through a similar process.

“It is precisely because of the decisions taken back then that both Telugu states currently hold the number one position in the pharmaceutical sector. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hyderabad's Genome Valley supplied vaccines to the entire world,” he said.

“The ecosystem of Hyderabad emerged as a result of the reforms introduced in the past across sectors such as IT, pharmaceuticals, and infrastructure. Hyderabad evolved into one of the most livable cities in the world. This did not happen overnight; rather, a combination of factors—ranging from early-morning inspections to various policy decisions—paved the way for this transformation,” he added.

Naidu stated that although Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated into two separate states due to political reasons, the decisions taken in the past have successfully boosted the per capita income of the Telugu people.

“By the time we returned to power in Andhra Pradesh in 2024, the entire state had been left in ruins. The state's brand image was tarnished, and its institutional frameworks were completely dismantled,” he said and claimed that the coalition government took several steps to put the state back on the path of progress.

The Chief Minister claimed that Andhra Pradesh now stands at the forefront in attracting investments.

Realising that future technologies will revolve around fields such as Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Drones, the state government embarked on establishing dedicated hubs for Space, Electronics, and Drone technologies, he said.

The government also started focusing on Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia, which are set to dominate the energy landscape. With sustainable power generation, there will be no need to increase electricity tariffs in the future, he said.

He stated that Andhra Pradesh is poised to lead the entire South Indian region in the production of green energy.