Barcelona to help DDA, NDMC

Barcelona agrees to enter into technical collaboration with DDA and NDMC to develop New Delhi as a Smart City.
In a meeting with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor Antoni Vives, Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu referred to his ongoing visit to Barcelona on the occasion of the Smart City Expo World Congress. The Deputy Mayor said that the Minister’s speech at the inaugural had been “stunning” and had left a deep impression amongst the delegates about the scale of the challenges facing India and the commitment of the Government of India to transform the urban landscape in India.
The Minister also spoke in detail about the government’s priorities regarding urban development and reconstruction, the proposal to develop 100 smart cities, redevelop 500 existing cities and also preserve India’s heritage cities. He noted that there was a lot to be learnt from Barcelona in this regard and that he would welcome the prospect of a technical collaboration with the authorities of Barcelona for this purpose. The Mayor indicated that Barcelona Regional, the Urban Development Agency for Barcelona would be happy to cooperate in this regard. The Agency was responsible for technical and economic feasibility studies and surveys and for the management and implementation of infrastructure projects. It was currently examining proposals for developing a joint venture with Indian companies for this purpose.
The Minister said that the joint venture could participate in development projects through transparent and competitive bidding processes. He also said that Barcelona Regional could examine the possibility of cooperating directly with an agency such as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). The Mayor agreed to develop a technical collaboration proposal in this regard and forward it through the Indian Embassy in Madrid for examination by the concerned Indian authorities.

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