The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Vijayawada, in association with the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Department, organised a conference titled ‘Urban Andhra-2030’ on the theme ‘Designing Future-Ready, Sustainable and Resilient Cities’ on Wednesday.

Addressing the conference, Principal Secretary (MA&UD) S. Suresh Kumar outlined the Andhra Pradesh government’s vision of creating liveable, sustainable and investment-friendly cities. He said urban development was not merely about expanding city boundaries but about building high-quality urban environments supported by robust infrastructure and efficient governance.

Mr. Suresh Kumar highlighted key reforms introduced by the government, including the reduction of the minimum layout road width requirement from 12 to 9 metres, revision of the high-rise building threshold from 18 to 24 metres, rationalisation of setbacks, and provisions for podium parking, skywalks and sky parks.

He also detailed several ongoing initiatives, such as the preparation of GIS-based master plans for all 123 Urban Local Bodies, creation of a statewide digital property registry, development of an online Transferable Development Rights (TDR) trading platform, implementation of the Puramitra citizen grievance management system, and smart municipal governance dashboards.

Suggesting a collaborative approach to urban planning, Mr. Suresh Kumar proposed the formation of a multidisciplinary Urban Advisory Task Force comprising experts from industry, academia and professional institutions to support the government in shaping future urban policies.

APCRDA Additional Commissioner K. Karthik said Amaravati had been planned to accommodate a projected population of 3.5 million and generate 1.5 million jobs by 2050. He highlighted key planning features, including extensive blue-green infrastructure, integrated mobility systems, underground utility corridors, district cooling systems, flood mitigation measures and non-motorised transport networks.

Former HUDCO Chairman and Managing Director V. Suresh said Andhra Pradesh’s urban future should be built on the twin pillars of sustainability and resilience, and stressed the need for integrated planning and climate-resilient infrastructure.

CII Andhra Pradesh Chairman S. Narendra Kumar, Infrastructure and Logistics Panel Co-Convener Sandeep Mandava, Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Director Sahadev Singh, and Ather Energy Senior Vice-President Subrata Mitra were among those present.