New Delhi : With the government naming 20 cities to be developed as ‘Smart Cities’, experts said the project will require huge fund mobilization that could be brought about by public-private partnerships.
“The 20 shortlisted cities comprise a mix of cities from all regions of India with high economic and industrial potential.
“Developing the project in the shortlisted cities would ensure quality infrastructure, technology-enabled services, sustainable public transport,” said Sanjay Dutt, Managing Director, India, Cushman & Wakefield. Arindam Guha, Senior Director, Deloitte in India said: “The really smart cities will build on the effort already put into developing the Smart City plans and take some of the implementation forward, especially those which do not require significant financial outlays like increasing walkability by improving pavements or are largely supported by private investment like wi-fi facilities in public spaces, beautification of public places through corporate sponsorships or advertisements,” he said.
Schneider Electric Infrastructure VP and MD Prakash Chandraker said herculean effort has gone into the elaborate evaluation process for selecting these 20 cities out of the shortlist of 98 that was drawn up last year. “The sheer size and scale of the initiative is unprecedented and unparalleled anywhere in the world,” he said terming it as watershed for the country.
Chandan Chowdhury, Managing Director, Dassault Systemes, said building smart cities will require considerable system integration, simplification and standardisation of geo data which will be key enablers of building projects across India.
