VIJAYAWADA:

chief minister Chandrababu Naidu’s political oneupmanship is not limited to spearheading an anti-BJP alliance and blocking CBI’s entry into his state. He has now stated that the proposed Andhra Pradesh Assembly building at Amaravati will be taller than the

by 68 metres. Once completed, this will be the tallest structure in the country. The

stands at 182 metres.

Naidu has almost finalised the design with minor changes and the blueprint will be submitted to the state government by UK-based architects Norma Fosters. The new assembly will be constructed with three floors and a tower spiralling 250 metres into the sky.

A view of the final designs of assembly and secretariat buildings of Amaravati, which were presented to Chandrababu Naidu at Amaravati on Thursday.

Naidu has made the announcement at a time when the unveiling of the Statue of Unity has sparked off competition between states to outdo each other. While Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that he will build a Ram statue that will be 201 metres tall, the Karnataka government is keen to build a statue of Mother Cauvery which will be 125 feet tall.

The structure that Naidu plans to build will be shaped like an upside-down lily flower, said minister for municipal administration P Narayana. The government would call for tenders by November end and the process will be completed in two years.

The new Assembly building will also have two galleries – the first one at 80 metres accommodating 300 people and the second one at 250 metres accommodating 20 people and will give a view of Amaravati city. The second gallery will be wrapped in glass and will have elevators. The building will be cyclone and-earthquake proof, the minister said.

Narayana added that the chief minister suggested minor changes to the design and this will be ready in a couple of days.

Naidu also cleared designs of the five buildings of the secretariat. He directed the AP Capital Region Development Authority officials to prepare draft tender notifications.