Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has officially announced his plans to shift to Visakhapatnam in December of this year. He made this announcement during the inauguration of Infosys’ development center at Rushikonda in the port city on October 16.
“I was hoping for October but December would probably be the outer line when I would actually be staying in Vizag,” he stated, expressing his hope that this move would propel Visakhapatnam to the status of a Tier-I city.
Jagan Mohan Reddy revealed that he has directed government officials to search for suitable accommodations for himself, his security personnel, and officials from the Chief Minister’s Office in Visakhapatnam.
The Chief Minister emphasized the immense potential of Visakhapatnam, comparing it to cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai. He lamented that after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the state lost its Tier-I city status when Hyderabad became the capital. Consequently, Vizag remained a Tier-II city. Nevertheless, he firmly believes that Visakhapatnam can achieve Tier-I city status.
Jagan Mohan Reddy pointed out that Visakhapatnam is an educational hub with eight universities, four medical colleges, 14 engineering colleges, and 12 degree colleges. The city produces 12,000 to 15,000 engineers annually.
Furthermore, the city boasts prestigious institutions like the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and National Law University. It also hosts several public sector companies, such as the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the Eastern Naval Command, which houses nearly 20,000 naval officers and their families. Visakhapatnam has a robust port-based infrastructure with two ports, and a third one is under development in Srikakulam, not far from the city. An international airport is also in the works, with an expected completion date in the next two years.
To facilitate the transition, the state government recently established a committee of officials to identify suitable temporary accommodations, including a camp office for the Chief Minister and lodgings for senior government officials. The Chief Minister will make regular visits to Visakhapatnam to conduct review meetings regarding the development of north coastal Andhra Pradesh.
This relocation plan comes after the Chief Minister’s previous announcement during a cabinet meeting last month, where he declared that the state administration would shift to Visakhapatnam on Dasara. Jagan Mohan Reddy had earlier declared during the Global Investors Summit in March that Visakhapatnam would become the state’s executive capital.
It’s worth noting that this move marks a change from the previous government’s plan to develop Amaravati as the state capital. The YSRCP government’s proposed configuration designates Visakhapatnam as the administrative capital, Kurnool as the judicial capital, and Amaravati as the legislative capital. However, protests by Amaravati farmers and a high court order calling for the development of Amaravati as the state capital had caused delays in this transition.
