Amaravati is the de facto capital city of the Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh. The planned city is located on the southern banks of the
Krishna river in Guntur district, within the Andhra Pradesh Capital
Region, being built on a 217 sq km riverfront designed to have 51% of
green spaces and 10% of water bodies. The word "Amaravati" derives from
the historical Amaravathi Temple town, the ancient capital of the
Satavahana dynasty. The foundation stone was laid on 22 October 2015, at
Uddandarayunipalem area by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The
metropolitan area of Guntur and Vijayawada are the major conurbations of
Amaravati. Amaravati is being constructed to serve as the new capital
city of Andhra Pradesh, after Telangana was split off as a separate
state in 2014. The former capital city, Hyderabad, is now located inside
Telangana. A new capital city had to be either assigned or constructed
on the remaining territory of Andhra Pradesh. The choice fell on the
Amaravati, which was specifically designed to that end. For a
transitional period of no more than 10 years, Hyderabad could continue
to serve as the residence of Andhra Pradesh's official state
institutions.