USTDA supports 2nd phase of Vizag’s smart city project

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency recently informed that it has launched the second phase of its support to Visakhapatnam???s endeavour to build safe, efficient and integrated urban infrastructure. The next phase of the project would deliver an integrated smart city master plan which would not only recommend planning frameworks for the entire city, but also develop specific recommendations to grow four key urban centres, USTDA said in a statement. It would also include integrated analyses and recommendations across eight priority smart city components.

???This includes critical infrastructure such as transportation, water supply, sanitation and energy, as well as citizen-focused areas like social infrastructure and resilience planning,??? the statement added.

Ever since the launch of the project, a team of U.S. companies ??? led by AECOM, including KPMG and IBM ??? have been working closely with Andhra Pradesh and Vizag. Together, they have started to identify the planning and investments required to sustainably grow and modernise the city, working toward the goal of making Vizag a clean commerce capital.

USTDA also said that during the 2016 U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue, they had announced new partnerships that would support infrastructure development in India. ???We have invested in over 130 project preparation and partnership building activities to develop sustainable infrastructure across the country, with the help of innovative U.S. solutions,??? USTDA Director Leocadia I Zak said.

Zak announced that USTDA would partner with India???s Ministry of Finance under the agency???s Global Procurement Initiative (GPI), which helps countries secure better procurement outcomes by promoting the use of value-based procurement mechanisms, including life-cycle cost analysis. Further, the USTDA is working with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to extend the use of the GPS-aided Geo-Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) system.

Source : Urbannewsdigest