Showing keen interest in partnering smart cities development initiative in the country, Sweden has suggested a common plan of action for applying its expertise and technology in promoting sustainable and green friendly public transport solutions besides solid waste management in smart cities which are under development. Sweden’s minister of European Union Affairs and Trade Ann Linde met minister of urban development M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday.
Officials said that Linde held detailed discussions on possible areas of cooperation in respect of development of smart cities. She said that Sweden and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2015 to promote sustainable urban development and Smart City Mission offers a unique opportunity to translate this MoU into concrete actions.
The visiting Swedish minister said her country is a global leader in waste management, urban mobility solutions, smart parking systems, air filtration, real time information systems, command and control systems etc., which are integral to smart city plans of Indian cities. She further said that a Swedish company SCANIA would soon be operating 55 ethanol based buses in Nagpur.
Naidu said that India’s Smart City mission offered ample opportunities for investments to both Indian and foreign companies. He said that selected smart cities would be happy to benefit from Swedish technologies and particularly, in the areas of public transport and solid waste management. He suggested to the visiting minister to advise Swedish companies to reach out to respective cities for partnering in implementation of their smart city plans.