Australia has a big plan to develop Kurnool city into a mega city. Located on the banks of River Tungabhadra, the city and the district long back ceased to be news. For some time, during the byelections to Nandyala, when the then Prime Minister PV Narasimhara contested and won, the district hit the headlines. Later, Kurnool sank into oblivion. Now and then the notorious faction murders of the district kept the name afloat in the media.
The city or the district are not a priority item for any of the government, now and then which made it a forgotten one among the districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Now, suddenly, Kurnool is the news. Thanks to Australians’ interest, Kurnool for the first time became topic of modern development. Australia has plans to develop not only the city into a mega city but also the areas around Kurnool, which was the first capital of Andhra state, formed in 1953 bifurcating the composite Madras state.
The plans were revealed by none other than Chennai based Australian Consulate General Gen. Sean Kelly.
In a meeting he had with district administration including Collector Ch Vijaykanth, Gen. Kelly sought allotment of 20 acres of land at Bethamcherla in the district for establishing a high-grade iron ore plant. According to Kelly the plant would set up with capital outlay of Rs. 3,000 crore and it will generate employment to 2,000 persons.
“Modern technology will be employed to convert the low-grade iron ore available at Bethamcherla in the district into a high-grade ore which has tremendous market potential,: the Consul General said.
The Australia is also thinking of setting up a world-class university at Kurnool. Simiarly, it has plans to set up skill development centres to train the youth in computers and vocational higher education courses.
As for Kurnool, the Consul General assured to help the government in developing inner and outer rings road in city and as well as the development of river bed and canal systems for the Handri Neeva, Tungabhadra, and KC Canal projects.
District Collector Vijayamohan said a 20-acre land would be earmarked for high-grade iron production at Bethamcherla.
The Collector gave a PowerPoint presentation on the development potential of Kurnool district to the Australian Consulate General team.
