Vizag Smart City plan to take more time

Visakhapatnam: The Vizag Smart City plan, a separate project from the Centre’s Smart Cities Mission which is limited to 1,100 acres in the RK Beach, could take more time to start off.

The representatives of the consortium want at least 15 months to prepare a three-phase study. The AP government and the US Trade Development Agency had inked an MoU in January 2015 to develop Vizag as a Smart City. Other than preparing a preliminary report, not much has happened so far.

At a recent meeting in Visakhapatnam, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu asked the representatives of the consortium - IBM, KPMG and AECOM - to speed up the planning process.

Making a reference to the capital city Amaravati master plan, which was prepared in six months, Mr Naidu directed them to conclude the report in 15 months instead of 18.

After conducting a field-level basic analysis for about five months, the consortium was to draw up an integrated master plan followed by an implementation plan in about 10 months.

The USTDA would provide the consortium $5 million to prepare the Smart City master plan. It would also contribute to project planning, infrastructure development, feasibility studies and capacity building.

The consortium would prepare sector-wise specific detailed project reports, including disaster management, water supply management, sanitation, sewage treatment, safety and security, non-motorised transport system and other important aspects as per the city's requirements.

Director, US Trade Development Agency, Leocadia I. Zak, stated that the detailed master plan would be prepared in consultation with the citizens. “I heard a lot about Vizag city, which has a diversified industrial portfolio, the fifth largest port in India and good connectivity. There is so much potential to tap. We are going to make the city much smarter,” said Ms Zak.

US envoy says studies vital

The first-ever visit of an US Ambassador to India to an Indian university and that too in Vizag triggered a lot of enthusiasm among students.

Apart from speaking about the role of the US in making Vizag a smart city to the students at GITAM Univer-sity, US Ambassador Richard R. Verma enco-uraged the students by narrating the difficult times his family went through and how education changed his life.

“Despite all odds, I am standing in front of you as US Ambassador to India all because of education. Universities play a key role in a nation’s progress,” Mr Verma said.

“My parents are originally from Punjab. No one was literate in my family, except my father. My mother, who came from a village in Pakistan, got her master’s degree despite all the violence during partition,” Mr Verma said.

After the event, he tweeted: “Great conversation with students on host of issues important for future of Vizag. These young minds exude optimism!”

The US Ambassador took five questions from the students, mostly related to the Smart City project and hailed the students for their interest and ideas they came up with. Taking a question from management student Menakshi — “What does a smart city mean in business” — he said besides the goal of development, there are also a lot of works to be done on the revenue perspective as a lot of investments are pum-ped into projects by private players.

He also appreciated student Sneha, who asked how women and children could be involved in the Smart City project. “I clearly understand the role of women is indispensable for the development of any city. I cannot forget the ability of my mother and grandmother in helping my family. I think there should be equal pay for equal work irrespective of gender,” he said.