History
Following the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu announced plans to construct a brand new capital in Amaravati with Vijayawada as its gateway. [4] [5] [6] As part of this plan the government announced its plans to build a metro system in Vijayawada. Initially, the government explored ideas to link Vijaywada to nearby cities such as Tenali and Guntur using the metro system. [7] This idea was later cancelled and it was announced that the metro would stay confined to the city. [8] [9]
The Andhra Pradesh government announced that it had appointed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the city. The DPR submitted by DMRC proposed two routes. [10] [11] The first corridor would run from the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) to Penamaluru and the second corridor would run from Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) to Nidamanuru via Vijayawada Airport. The two corridors were proposed to be fully elevated and totaled to a distance of 26.03 km (16.17 mi) with an estimated cost of ₹6,823 crore (US$810 million). [12] [13] The project was then submitted to the ministry of urban affairs for approval. Following this, DMRC invited tenders for the construction of the two corridors on 25 September 2015. [14] [15] However, the tenders were later cancelled due to the central governments new Metro Rail policy, which increased the scrutiny regarding ridership and cost projections. [16] [17] Later DMRC ended its MoU with the Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation, which forced the AMRC to explore a PPP alternative to build the metro lines. [18] [19]
Due to the new policy, the government revised the line from a heavy-rail based mass rapid transit system to a Light Rail Transit System. The new plan involved building a 66.2 km (41.1 mi) network with a cost of ₹15,000 crore (US$1.8 billion). However, unlike the previous plan, the plan would see construction spread across Gannavaram – Vijayawada – Amaravati across three different phases. [20] The revised DPR was then submitted by SYSTRA – RITES – GOPA JV to the government in April 2019. [21] [22]
However, following the 2019 Andhra Pradesh elections, former chief minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy announced he was putting the project on hold. This was part of the government's broader plan to revise its plans of constructing Amaravati as the sole capital of the state. [23] [24] Later in 2020, the government announced that the Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) would be renamed the Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (APMRC). [25] [26]
Once again however, following the 2024 Andhra Pradesh election Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu announced that both the Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam Metro would be back on track. The government approved the new DPRs for Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. [27] In March 2025, it was announced Systra would be tasked with the responsibility of updating the comprehensive mobility plans (CMP) for Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada metro. [28] Soon the government also announced that the land acquisition for the project would resume after it was put on hold in 2019. [29] [30] The revised CMP was submitted to the state government who approved it later. The state government then forwarded the updated CMP and brand new DPRs to the central government for approval. [31] [32] On 28 July 2025, the Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation invited bids for the initial civil contract of the Vijayawada Metro Rail Project, worth ₹4,150 crore (US$490 million). The civil contract concerns the design, construction and engineering of a 4.33 kilometres (2.69 mi) double-decker, four-lane flyover-cum-metro viaduct, one underground metro station, and thirty-two elevated metro stations. The project will be executed on an EPC basis, with an overall completion period of thirty months from the commencement date, with a dedicated period of 24 months comprising the double-decker flyover segment. [33]
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