Rs 15K cr PPP opportunities in smart cities projects: Housing Ministry

IANS

New Delhi, 22 Jan 2022: As many as 160 public-private partnership (PPP) early stage projects worth Rs 15,000 crore are available in various smart cities under the Smart Cities Mission, an ambitious urban infrastructure initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

 

As the mission had successfully completed 228 PPP projects worth Rs 22,000 crore across 60 plus cities, a virtual roadshow to showcase PPP opportunities under the Smart Cities Mission was organised by the MoHUA and Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation agency, in which various smart city CEOs directly showcased PPP opportunities from their cities to private investors and start-ups.

 

During this virtual roadshow, the Ministry stressed upon the importance of private sector participation in the progress of the Smart Cities Mission.

 

The programme also highlighted the need for driving continued participation from across the globe and the opportunities hosted on India Investment Grid, the portal developed by Invest India, that has received more than 3.5 million views from more than 195 countries, with smart cities projects attracting increasing global interest.

 

"India has seen hugely positive interest from global investors on opportunities in infrastructure, including those from the Smart Cities Mission. There is enormous potential for fruitful partnerships with the private sector to unlock the New India growth story," said Deepak Bagla, CEO, Invest India.

 

PPP opportunities were showcased by CEOs from 10 smart cities (Ranchi, Nashik, Nagpur, Srinagar, Pune, Gwalior, Imphal, Bilaspur, Shivamogga and Warangal) in four sectoral sessions namely urban transport, commercial infrastructure and Hospitality, education and energy.

 

The projects covered areas such as market redevelopment, multi-level smart parking, urban mobility, solar power generation, development of multi-modal transport hubs as well as establishment of educational hubs.

 

"The Smart Cities Mission provides an opportunity to private players to participate in building sustainable infrastructure through application of smart development solutions and innovative funding mechanisms," said Kunal Kumar, Director, Smart Cities Mission.

 

More than 200 attendees from nearly 100 organisations, including infrastructure and technology companies, start-ups, trade associations, financial investors and multilateral agencies participated in the event.