Andhra ropes in top architect for township

The government of Andhra Pradesh along with Hyderabad Urban Development Corporation (HUDC) is all set to rope in Ahmedabad-based Vastu Shilpa Foundation, founded by world-renowned architect B V Doshi, for setting up a satellite township on the lines of Gurgaon and Noida for an estimated project cost of Rs 70-80,000 crore.

The proposed satellite township will be set at Jawahar Nagar on 2,000 acres of land.

Utpal Sharma, who is working with Vastu Shilpa for this project said, "The work is in a very preliminary stage. However, looking at it now the cost of the entire project is likely to be around Rs 70-80,000 crore. We are involved in the planning and designing part, the initial work for which has already started."

"Further land acquisition and basic infrastructure cost may be to the tune of Rs 2000 crore. The new satellite town 'Jawahar Nagar' will hold the population pressure witnessed in Hyderabad," said Sharma.

Jayesh Rajan, vice-chairman and managing director of HUDC said, "The idea is to replicate Syderabad which was set eight years ago to facilitate lot of IT and ITES companies.

Further on, he added, "The work of designing will be given to Vastu Shilpa Foundation. The government already has 2000 acre of land on which it proposes to build the satellite township. We plan to create more space for entertainment and leisure here."

When asked about the estimated cost of the project he said, "The budget can only be decided once the master plan is ready with us."

Besides, there will be residential facilities, institutions and area for commercial development. The design for Syderabad was also done by Vastu Shilpa Foundation.

The design and master plan will be ready in eighteen months and the entire project is likely to take about 10 years or more to complete.

"This will be a public private partnership wherein various reputed developers will be roped in for developing this area," Sharma further said.

Rajeev Kathpalia, joint director of Vastu Shilpa said, "The satellite town is to support the main city. The idea is to have a township which is inter-dependent. In case of Syderabad, we developed the left over land keeping in mind the environmental and ecological aspects."

He however said that the work has still to be officially awarded to them.