Odisha govt likely to rope in Singapore-based agencies for smart city projects

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government is considering roping in Singapore-based agencies for development of smart city Bhubaneswar.

“A preliminary discussion on the tie-up between the state government and Singapore’s urban development agencies on smart city projects has been held,” said housing and urban development minister Puspendra Singh Deo after holding a meeting with Singapore consul general Ajit Singh here on Wednesday.

He said the government is planning to engage two leading Singapore-based agencies — Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Centre for Livable City (CLC) — to make Bhubaneswar the smartest city in the world.
CLC in Singapore is working in the area of research, capacity development, knowledge platform and urban development while URA is working on planning and facilitating physical development.

The state plans to engage the two agencies to provide technical support for the city projects, he said.

The minister said that a consultation programme would be organised in which a technical team from Singapore and officials of the state government would participate.

“We have discussed ways that Odisha and Singapore can collaborate to develop Bhubaneswar as one of the best smart cities. We are looking at the kind of support we can provide to the government in this regard,” said Singh.
According to sources, Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) would ink an agreement with the Singapore-based technical agencies to develop smart city projects.