The government will complete the Polavaram project by 2018 just as it completed Pattiseema in a record time of one year, said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Addressing a public meeting organised to mark the completion of the Pattiseema project, Mr. Naidu said the Polavaram project was the biggest ongoing project in the country. There were several technical challenges that need to be surmounted and the best engineers from all over the world would be consulted for that. One lakh cubic metres of earthwork was being done per day but that was not sufficient. At least 1.5 lakh cubic metres of earthwork has to be done in a day. Godavari is a river which had some of the biggest floods and if work was not completed as per schedule, an entire year will be wasted,” he said. The completion of Polavaram would make Andhra Pradesh one of the best in the country. East and West Godavari districts would be able to raise two crops and the entire Krishna district would be stabilised, he said. Krishna water could be released to the Rayalaseema region and water could be supplied through the Polavaram Left Main canal to Visakhapatnam. ‘Horticulture hub in the making’ The Chief Minister said that he would not rest until the projects needed for the development of the State were completed. Mr. Naidu lauded Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) Managing Director Krishna Reddy and the Irrigation Department engineers for completing the project in one year after overcoming the technical glitches. Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamahesara Rao said that Rayalaseema would be developed into a horticulture hub. Officials and MEIL employees who worked for the success of Pattiseema project were felicitated on the occasion.