The two consultancy firms entrusted with the task of developing the core master plan for the 8 sq km area of proposed capital of Andhra Pradesh have got their work cut out. While Jurong International will focus on industrial planning and bring about employment opportunities, Surbana will focus on the overall structuring and land development.
A day after Singapore second minister for trade and industry S Iswaran announced that the core master plan will be designed by these two firms, sources in the AP government told TOI that Jurong was selected to build the industrial sector in view of its experience in developing similar designs elsewhere in the country.
In contrast, Surbana’s experience is largely limited to Singapore. “The Singapore government offered to design the master plan free of cost, and we took up the offer. It is the Singapore government which has hired these two consultancy firms. There is no financial obligation on our side,” said an AP government official.
Though ideally a master plan would take around nine months to be prepared, these two firms have been asked to ready the same within six months. “On Monday , the Singapore delegation gave us a presentation on zonewise planning for the capital. Most part of the planning will take place in Singapore itself,” said the sources.
Reportedly specific details of the master plan, including architecture and design, will be structured on the way Singapore and other recently developed capitals like Putrajaya in Malaysia came up.
“We have told them that while the new capital should be futuristic, it should at the same time exemplify local culture and heritage,” said the sources.The expectation of CM Chandrababu Naidu is that in the near future, the capital region will become home to nearly 75 lakh people and the master plan should keep that in mind, they added.
Jurong Consultants, the India wing of Jurong International, has had a presence in the country since 2000.”We have designed more than 10 master plan projects in India, including industrial and IT parks like Sricity in Chittoor, Mahindra World city master plan in Chennai and the new master plan project for Jamshedpur town,” Jurong Consultants India head Uma Maheshwaran told TOI.The firm is also designing the construction of the IT campus of MNC Convergys s in Hyderabad.
Singapore minister promises world class capital city
Singapore minister S Iswaran on Tuesday promised to build a world class capital city for Andhra Pradesh. In a brief interaction with ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Kollu Ravindra and MP K Narayana at Gannavaram airport in the city, Iswaran said Singapore will create top-class infrastructure in the capital city.
He told the ministers that he was delighted at the natural beauty of the capital region. He said the Singapore team will work according to the plans and ideas of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and assist him in building a global city near Vijayawada.
