[15] In January 2018, the state government signed a new contract for the project spillway, spill channel, and stilling basin concrete work with Navayuga Engineering.

[18] On January 7, 2019, the Polavaram project entered the Guinness Book of World Records by pouring 32,100 cubic meters of concrete in 24 hours by Navayuga Engineering.

The project beat the existing record of 21,580 cubic meters, which was achieved by Abdul Wahid Bin Shabib, RALS Contracting LLC and Alfa Eng.

[35] This exercise, with a combined network of 30 river-links and a total length of 14,900 kilometres (9,300 mi) at an estimated cost of US$120 billion (in 1999), would be the largest infrastructure project in the world.

The proposed dam site at Polavaram is located where the river emerges from the last range of the Eastern Ghats into plains covered with deep alluvial sandy strata.

this alternative was found to be technologically challenging due to the need to connect the reservoir with the irrigation canals via tunnels across the ghat area.

[44] The alternate site located in the gorge stretch still merits re-examination to reduce the ever-increasing cost of Polavaram dam.

[45] The project reservoir has a live storage of 75.2 tmcft at the canal's full supply level of 41.15 metres (135 ft) MSL and a gross storage of 194 tmcft, thereby enabling irrigation of 2,320,000 acres (940,000 ha) (including stabilisation of existing irrigated lands) in Krishna, West Godavari, Eluru district, East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Srikakulam districts of Andhra Pradesh.

However, these lift stations are to be operated every year during the dry season to draw water from the substantial dead storage available behind the floodgates of the Polavaram dam.

Two cofferdams are planned, one up to 41 metres (135 ft) MSL, to facilitate a faster pace of work on the dam to complete the first phase of the project by June 2018.

[61] In December 2016, NABARD handed over ₹1,981 crores, as part of its loan from the Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).

[64] In June 2018, the Central Government approved ₹1,400 crores which had been sanctioned in January, but not released, through Extra Budgetary Resources raised by NABARD.

[66] In June 2018, the Water Ministry sanctioned ₹417.44 crore as grant-in-aid under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY) towards the project.

[83] Ultimately the Polavaram right bank canal would be remodelled to enhance its capacity to 50,000 cusecs by raising its embankments for augmenting water transfer to meet shortages in the Krishna river basin and the needed environmental flows downstream of Prakasam barrage.

Thus water flow from Polavaram right bank canal to Krishna River can be enhanced by constructing a 25 MW power plant.

The proposed dikes would be similar to the land reclamation of North Sea area called Delta Works in Netherlands or Saemangeum Seawall in South Korea.

[94] From this water tank, dry lands in Prakasam and Nellore districts up to Tamil Nadu border can be brought under irrigation by gravity canals.

From this canal, water would be further pumped to the uplands up to 600 m msl across the Seshachalam mountains to irrigate vast area in Chittoor, Cudapah and Ananthapur districts.

This gravity canal would also be extended further to transfer 350 tmcft water up to the Kavery river in Tamil Nadu state during South-west monsoon period.

[97] Environmental activist Medha Patkar said that the project not only will displace several thousands of families, it will also submerge several archaeological sites, coal deposits, a wildlife sanctuary in Papikonda National Park, and several hectares of farm land.

[98] Sixty-four years after the initial conception of the project, the Government of Andhra Pradesh secured the environmental clearance from the central agency in 2005.

This clearance was obtained after the state government prepared a ₹4,500 crore forest management plan and rehabilitation and resettlement proposal covering 59,756 hectares that were being lost under the project.

[105] In response, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy clarified that neither Odisha nor Chhattisgarh would be affected by the construction.

[106] The problem continued until 2010, when Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik remained steadfast in his demand for compensation and rehabilitation of tribals of his state who would be displaced due to the submerging of their land.

[108][109] In June 2018, it was reported that Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha had written to the Central Government to halt the Polavaram Project.

Then only enhanced submergence during the PMF of the Godavari river in Odisha and Chhattisgarh states can be assessed due to the Polavaram dam construction.

The land submergence due to the Polavaram dam in Odisha and Chhattisgarh states is a fraction of the Andhra Pradesh area which is affected by the floods in the Godavari River.

This stretch of the river has substantial hydroelectricity generation potential by building medium head (< 20 m) barrages in series to minimize land submergence.

[117] In July 2018, a two-member bench of the Supreme Court asked Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments to frame the issues for arguments.

Telangana said to the court it is in-principle agree for the project but the center should take up study by neutral central institute like CWPRS, Pune to study the impact of Backwater due to increase of 36 lakh cusecs to 50 lakh cusecs of spillway design discharge, it is to ascertain the safety of important temple town like Bhadrachalam, Mining areas and heavy water Plant.