VISAKHAPATNAM: The US government is keen on extending support in development of smart cities in the new state of Andhra Pradesh. The US has a core group of 30 companies, which will be offering the required services to build the smart cities in India, Minister Counselor for Commerce Affairs for US Embassy John McCaslin has said.
A team of four higher officials from the US Consulates of Chennai and Hyderabad, led by the Minister Counselor, visited the Port City Friday as part of ‘America Days’ to assess the possibilities of participatory developments and investments. The team had an interactive session with the district administration, VUDA, GVMC and other major departments at the VUDA Office.
District collector N Yuvaraj, VUDA in-charge vice-chairman and EPDCL chairman and managing director MV Seshagiri Babu, joint collector and GVMC in-charge commissioner Pravin Kumar attended the meeting.
On the occasion, John McCaslin said that the American companies were ready to extend support in the prime areas of energy, sanitation, transportation and security as integral parts of the smart cities. The American delegation had a meeting with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and accordingly, the team visited Vizag for assessing the possibilities, he added.
“Specific technology projects, automotive sector, transportation connectivity, linking the East Coast with the West Coast with excellent sea transport connectivity, infrastructure and other areas have been chosen for working together with both the Indian and Andhra Pradesh governments,” he said.
Collector Yuvaraj explained various possibilities and opportunities of development in and around Visakhapatnam city. Keeping in view of the initiatives by both the Central and state governments, world-class development proposals were being prepared to launch milestone projects in the sectors of IT, commerce, tourism, infrastructure and others. The initiatives of VUDA made the Vizag region investor-friendly and the forthcoming project of Petroleum, Chemical and Petro-chemical Investment Region (PCPIR) would enable many possibilities for growth and development, he pointed out.