Germany to develop Kochi, Coimbatore and Bhubaneshwar as smart cities

India is the biggest partner of Germany’s development cooperation programme across the world. Last year, the two countries collaborated on projects worth €1.5 billion (Rs.11,000 crore) The Dollar Business Bureau

Germany has also been engaged in supporting several Indian initiatives including “Swachh Bharat”, the “National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)” and the “Atal Mission for Urban Rejuvenation and Transformation (AMRUT)”.

Germany on Monday announced that it will partner with India to develop Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Kochi under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led ‘Smart Cities’ initiative. Gunther Adler, State Secretary of the German Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety said, “Germany would contribute to India’s Smart Cities programme - namely to projects in Kochi (Kerala), Bhubaneswar (Odisha) and Coimbatore (Tamilnadu).” In January this year, India’s Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu announced the first 20 cities, with Bhubaneswar topping the list, to be transformed into smart cities with total investment of Rs.50,802 crore over the next five years. The announcement was made during the 2^nd meeting of the Indo-German Working Group on Urban Development on Monday. The German State Secretary is on a two-day visit to India. "Germany wants to support the ambitious Smart Cities programme. Here, the German Building Ministry also supports German companies that want to cooperate intensively with Indian partners in order to assist Indian cities in implementing their plan", State Secretary Adler said. In addition, Germany has also been engaged in supporting several Indian initiatives including “Swachh Bharat”, the “National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)” and the “Atal Mission for Urban Rejuvenation and Transformation (AMRUT)”. “Germany is an ideal partner in India’s endeavor to create smarter cities: We are very strong at smart planning for urban centres. We have developed the technologies to make life in cities easier,” said Martin Ney, German Ambassador to India. Germany has for long been engaged in undertaking projects paralleled to smart cities, such as sustainable urban mobility, renewable energies and energy efficiency, and water and wastewater management. “We have developed the processes to bring on board the stakeholders to make cities thrive, and German companies have developed smart solutions to make smart cities,” the Ambassador said. Currently, India is the biggest partner of Germany’s development cooperation programme across the world. Last year, the two countries collaborated on projects worth €1.5 billion (Rs.11,000 crore). Since the time the Prime Minister kicked off the smart cities programme, several countries have extended their support to the Indian government. France, at the beginning of this year, said it would partner India to develop three cities, Chandigarh, Nagpur (Maharashtra) and the Union Territory of Puducherry. US and India have also agreed to develop action plans for the makeover of smart cities of Ajmer, Allahabad and Visakhapatnam.

March 08, 2016 | 02:28pm IST.

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The Dollar Business Bureau - Mar 08, 2016 08:55 IST

Germany to develop Kochi, Coimbatore and Bhubaneshwar as smart cities

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