India Invites German Firms to Invest in Infrastructure Sector
BERLIN, May 31: Seeking German investment in India's
infrastructure sector, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday
said the partnership between the two countries "should and will
flourish" as he invited participation of its business community in India's
"urban renaissance".
"Indo-German partnership should and will flourish. You will be able to see
for yourself the winds of change in India.
We are very keen to develop the sectors where you are strong.
We need your involvement," Naidu said while addressing a conference on
'100 Indian Smart Cities Conference' here.
He said India is at the "threshold of rapid urbanisation" and is
among the "fastest urbanising societies" of the world and is
projected to be more urban than rural by 2050.
"With 17 per cent of people living in urban areas at the time of
independence, urbanisation increased to over 31 per cent in 2011 and set to
reach 40 per cent by 2030," he said, adding that this demographic
transition brings along with it "serious challenges and opportunities too".
The High Powered Expert Committee of Indian Government in 2011 has estimated
investment requirement for urban infrastructure over the 20-year period
(2012-31) at over USD 650 billion and operation and maintenance (O&M) cost
at over USD 330 billion.
The total urban infrastructure requirement works out to about USD 1 trillion
over a 20-year period.
Naidu listed out various initiatives, including Smart City Mission, Atal
Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Swachh Bharat
Mission for addressing the "huge" gaps in urban infrastructure.
Noting that Germany is already assisting in development of Bhubaneswar, Kochi
and Coimbatore as smart cities, he said, "My visit is to explore more
investment assistance for remaining Smart Cities."
Highlighting the potential of various shemes, he said the investment in the
proposed 100 smart cities works out to USD 40 billion by 2020, while the total
outlay under AMRUT is USD 8 billion over five years for 500 cities and
estimated cost of implementation of Clean India Mission in Urban areas is USD
10 billion.
He said government will also introduce Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes)
Bill later this year for dispute resolution in infrastructure related
construction projects, public private partnership (PPP) and public utility
contracts.
Stressing that an essential feature of "Urban Renaissance is 'green'
development", the minister said, "This we will learn from Germany's
leadership in environmental-friendly and sustainable urban development".
Earlier, Naidu and German Minister of Nature Conservation, Forests, Building
and Nuclear Safety, Barbara Hendrics, inaugurated the three-day conference.
Leading global companies, policy makers and experts are attending the meet
being organised to highlight investment opportunities in India's Smart City
Mission.
-PTI
