NEW DELHI - Amaravati, the new capital city of Andhra Pradesh state that Singapore has helped plan, is showing signs of progress as temporary government offices are prepared for an estimated 3,000 employees to move there next month.

By August, another 2,000 to 3,000 people are expected to relocate as Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu tries to power ahead with creating from scratch a city 10 times the size of Singapore.

"So far, the chief minister has shifted along with his office. We are doing it in a phased manner and will complete all the shifting between June and August," said Ajay Jain, secretary to the government of Andhra Pradesh.

"This is a unique and very complex project," he said, adding that plans were moving along.

Japanese architectural firm Maki and Associates was recently chosen to design the permanent government buildings, ex