Taking forward Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s vision to build a world-class capital city, the Andhra Pradesh government on Monday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore government for master planning and development of capital city and capital region of the State.
The MoU was signed by D. Sambasiva Rao, Chairman of Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh and Teo Eng Cheong, Chief Executive Officer of International Enterprise Singapore in the presence of Second Minister for Trade and Industry in Singapore Government, S. Iswaran and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Addressing a press conference along with Mr. Naidu later, Mr. Iswaran said the preparation of the master plan would be completed by middle of next year and implemented subsequently. He said, “We are very happy to work with Mr. Naidu and the A.P. government and we are looking forward to a mutually beneficial outcome.”
He said there would be joint development of certain parts. Urban planning, urban infrastructure, sustainable urban solutions and residential development were some of the areas in which Singapore would lend its expertise. The Singapore government would also train about 30-40 State officials in urban planning, city and infrastructure planning in the first phase.
Replying to a question, he said the MoU at this stage did not refer to cost of building the capital. Asked if cultural and heritage aspects of the region would be considered while planning the capital, he said, “We are not taking Singapore model and slapping it on to A.P.”
Mr. Naidu said work on the capital city would begin once the plan was ready. Singapore companies would be involved wherever needed and there would be joint ventures and special purpose vehicles. The Chief Minister said his ambition was to complete the first phase of the capital city by 2019 before the next elections. Mr. Naidu said the draft MoU was approved by the External Affairs Ministry, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi blessed the proposal and asked Mr. Naidu to go ahead.
