Smart move? India building 100 high-tech 'smart cities' to rival Dubai and Singapore

[Paranoid Android]

India's push to accommodate a booming urban population and attract investment rests in large part with dozens of "smart" cities like the one being built on the dusty banks of the Sabarmati river in western India.

So far, the city boasts modern underground infrastructure, two office blocks and not much else.

The plan, however, is for a meticulously planned metropolis complete with gleaming towers, drinking water on tap, automated waste collection and a dedicated power supply - luxuries to many Indians.

With an urban population set to rise by more than 400 million people to 814 million by 2050, India faces the kind of mass urbanisation only seen before in China, and many of its biggest cities are already bursting at the seams.

Ahead of his election last May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised 100 so-called smart cities by 2022 to help meet the rush.

At a cost of about US$1 trillion (HK$7.75 trillion), according to estimates from financial consultants KPMG, the plan is also crucial to Modi's ambition of attracting investment while providing jobs for the million or more Indians who join the workforce every month.

His grand scheme, still a nebulous concept involving quality communications and infrastructure, is beginning to take shape outside Gandhinagar, capital of the state of Gujarat, with the first "smart" city the government hopes will provide a model for India's urban future.

Engineers walk past a cooling system plant under construction inside Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) at Gandhinagar. Photo: Reuters

"Most [Indian] cities have not been planned in an integrated way," said Jagan Shah, director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs which is helping the government set guidelines for the new developments.

Among the challenges to getting new cities built or existing cities transformed is the lack of experts who can make such huge projects work, and attracting private finance.

"To get the private sector in, there is a lot of risk mitigation that needs to happen because nobody wants a risky proposition," he said, stressing the need for detailed planning.

An aerial view of a site under construction at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) at Gandhinagar, in the western Indian state of Gujarat. Photo: Reuters

To build smart cities, India allocated 60 billion rupees (HK$5.4 trillion) in its annual federal budget, even as it spent just a fraction of last year's allocation of 70.6 billion rupees, said Shah.

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift), as the smart city is called, will double as a financial hub, with tax and other breaks to lure banks, brokerages and other businesses. Developed in partnership with IL&FS Engineering and Construction, it aims to compete with India's financial capital of Mumbai as well as overseas rivals like Dubai and Singapore.

Pressure on India's existing urban centres is already intense, with cities like Mumbai gridlocked by traffic and hampered by poor infrastructure and a lack of amenities like parks and effective public transport.

Yet some experts believe that building new cities may not be the answer to India's swelling urban population.

"To address India's urbanisation challenge, we have to start looking at our existing cities," said Shirish Sankhe, director at consultant McKinsey and Company, India.

He added that new cities would be only a small part of the solution relative to brownfield projects.

A bird's eye view from the top one of the two office buildings on the 886-acre Gift site, a venture which began when Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, shows little sign yet of the 9 billion rupees spent on the first phase. But the sandy plain hides infrastructure including an underground tunnel for utilities, a first in India. The key, experts say, is time.

Smart move? India building 100 high-tech 'smart cities' to rival Dubai and Singapore | South China Morning Post

 

[JohnyD]

...other day I read, Pakistan is going to launch 5G service..I had good laugh...now I read this..not one or two..direct 100 cities on par with Dubai and Singapore....! Salo, pehale Mumbai ki halat sudharo...the financial capital of India!

 

[Sky lord]

Not all the 100 cities are going to be greenfield. I don't much care for the name though, Gujarat international finance etc is a mouthful to say and GIFT is boring . They should come up with a better name.

 

[Maira La]

Get your existing cities right, put a stop to open defecation and do something about garbage on the streets. That should be "smart" enough for a start.

 

[Georgeclark]

Get your existing cities right, put a stop to open defecation and do something about garbage on the streets. That should be "smart" enough for a start.

I guess you are still stuck with old Indian Metropolises pictures. Now you won't see them much. Except some people who are lazy and throw them and defecation is not in the cities but slum areas that can be done with only moving a bulldozer over them which people don't accept. The smart way it to build new cities and make them planned once. Just like Chandigarh - Hyderabad in some areas.. GurGaon etc. Plus Indian cities have 3 parts. Slums - High Profile Area - Markets and Malls and offices and each part has its own perks.

 

[OneMORETime]

If this plan succeeds, good for us, if not, I won't be surprised.

 

[mujhaidind]

India ethnic problems are getting worse day by day. Look at Mharashtra. It's demographics are changing raidly. Soon marathis will become a minority in their own land. And Hindi speaking peole from UP and Bihar will become a majority. From what I have seen is that these Hindi migrants get preference over the marathis. One Hindi bhaiya gets hired then he hires everyone from his village.

Same thing is happening in Banglaore from what I hear. India is a ticking time-bomb.

 

[WAR-rior]

India ethnic problems are getting worse day by day. Look at Mharashtra. It's demographics are changing raidly. Soon marathis will become a minority in their own land. And Hindi speaking peole from UP and Bihar will become a majority. From what I have seen is that these Hindi migrants get preference over the marathis. One Hindi bhaiya gets hired then he hires everyone from his village.

Same thing is happening in Banglaore from what I hear. India is a ticking time-bomb.

...other day I read, Pakistan is going to launch 5G service..I had good laugh...now I read this..not one or two..direct 100 cities on par with Dubai and Singapore....! Salo, pehale Mumbai ki halat sudharo...the financial capital of India!

Kehna Kya chahte ho? Hoga ya Nahi hoga?

 

[East or West India Best]

lol talk is cheap.

 

[JohnyD]

Kehna Kya chahte ho? Hoga ya Nahi hoga?

Agar next 10 years mein Pak mein 5g aata hai to India mein 100 smart bhi cities bhi ban sakti hai....but I didnt like the comparison with Singapore....its not possible, we should set somewhat realistic goals..! Simply put, nahi hoga!

 

[zip]

If you dont show people good life then they are quite satisfied whatever they got and remain stagnant ..But when you show them how it is then they will strive hard to maintain it ..India is too large a country and can accommodate these cities ..Further most of these cities are not artificial ..Most of them are city municiple corporations ..And due to this declaration they are already attracting huge funding from private agencies ..Land rate is increasing exponentially ..So its a happening project and many of these cities are already feeling the developmental vibes ..

 

[K M Cariappa]

 

[nForce]

Get your existing cities right, put a stop to open defecation and do something about garbage on the streets. That should be "smart" enough for a start.

Building more cities will take the pressure off the existing ones, there by making them cleaner and better. Also, they will boost economy, bring in more investments and create more job opportunities. This was the first reaction of my 12 year old nephew when I told him about it. And you did not think about it ? What clouds your judgement ?

 

[WAR-rior]

Agar next 10 years mein Pak mein 5g aata hai to India mein 100 smart bhi cities bhi ban sakti hai....but I didnt like the comparison with Singapore....its not possible, we should set somewhat realistic goals..! Simply put, nahi hoga!

Any specific logic behind it? Coz I remember Singapore was one of the filthiest cities during 1975 and in 90s was the epicentre of world economic growth. If it can do it in 20 yrs in 20th century then 10-15 yrs in 21st century is realistic.

 

[Nicky G]

Its not one or the other, you need to do both. Improve the existing ones and build new ones. Obviously, for the ones that built anew, its sensible for them to be smart, which is the future.