Visakhapatnam gets a facelift ahead of BRICS meet

Visakhapatnam: In the run-up to the 3-day BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Urban Forum meet, starting from September 14, the city got a facelift with beautification works taken up by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and other organisations.

Roads, footpaths, medians and the city’s brimming tourist spots and places, including the airport, RK Beach and Kailasagiri, were spruced up for the event. Sanitation and general cleanliness in the city has been elevated to the highest-level of priority in the last few days, particularly the routes that lead from the airport to the BRICS meet venues. GVMC sources informed that they would illuminate all the important junctions of the city, including the apartments on the Beach Road during the meet.

With an eye on promoting ‘Sunrise Andhra Pradesh’ on the global arena, the state government had also gone all out with convening several high-level meetings as well as forming an array of committees to oversee the proceedings of the meet. Slated to be held from September 14 to 16 with a theme of ‘Building responsive, inclusive and collective solutions for urbanisation”, the three-day meet would shed light on the socio-economic challenges associated in urban areas.

It is expected that around 500 participants, including 100 foreign delegates from BRICS countries, will attend the international event. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu would also attend the meet. Based on the discussions and deliberations during the three days, ‘Vizag Declaration’ will be prepared, which would serve as the basis for the next BRICS meet.

GVMC executive engineer V. Sudhakarrao explained the ongoing beautification works were an extension to the works taken up ahead of the IFR. “Most of the works were completed and the staff are giving final touches to the beautification works. We have spruced up the traffic islands, road medians, Beach Road, etc.,” he added.

GVMC commissioner Hari Narayanan informed that the works were taken up with about Rs 7.4 crore,  including Rs 4 crore for city beautification, Rs 3 crore for kerb painting and plastering and Rs 40 lakh for sanitation and street lighting. “Successful completion of this meet would definitely elevate the brand image of Visakhapatnam.