Chandrababu Naidu Singapore Tour Updates

On his two-day tour, the Chief Minister’s first meeting was with Singapore’s Minister of National Development, Mr. Lawrence Wong. 

They both expressed keen interest to use this opportunity for both countries to work together. “The best cities in the world will be from India, and Amaravati will be one among the top 5 in the world”, said Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu talking about the immense potential of Amaravati. 

Minister Wong said that an upcoming greenfield city provides a golden opportunity for well-planned growth. “Many Ministers from Singapore have visited India recently, and have been happy with the growth and potential of growth. We want population in Amaravati, as we have noticed that the progress of building the city is very good”, he added. 

He appreciated the uniqueness of the land pooling scheme in Amaravati and said that Singapore is willing to apply the latest technology and ideas in Amaravati, as it is a greenfield city. 

“There are already two big cities near Amaravati, and the progress of the capital will only increase its pace in the coming months. I am still grateful to Singapore for completing the masterplan of Amaravati in record time. About 40 to 50 thousand crores is required for the building of infrastructure in the capital. Amaravati will not just be an administrative capital, but also an economic hub”, said the Chief Minister. 

Minister Wong enquired the timeframe for the development of Amaravati, to which the Chief Minister responded that around 30 million sft is already under construction. He said that tenders worth 30,000 crores have been called. Wong was confident that this would result in phenomenal transformation due to all this activity. 

The Chief Minister said that the development of Amaravati is inclusive of all sections of the society. “It is a people’s capital. We are still overcoming the disadvantages of bifurcation.” 

Minister Wong said that Singapore is extremely selective in choosing their country-to-country collaborations. “The only partnership we have in India is with Andhra Pradesh. The Global Cities Summit is a good place to understand best practices from all over the world and to reach out for innovative investment partnerships. Singapore will continue to work with AP, and I too will visit soon.”

The Chief Minister then attended the World Cities’ Summit Mayors Forum which would be attended by 120 mayors and representatives of 165 cities, which followed a brief pre-meeting with Professor Greg Clark, the Moderator. 

Minister Wong welcomed all participants and said that the meeting is held every two years and leads to understanding all challenges and best practices. “All cities are now under immense pressure of competition and the need to work together is increasing”, he said. 

“Disruptive innovation and financing of infrastructure are the two topics for today. Due to the need to constantly innovate and improve, disruptive innovation is crucial today. Greener and more sustainable cities are the need of the day. Smart cities with economic opportunities first need efficient harnessing of technology. There are common issues to be addressed for the development of any city, whatever the stage of progress may be.” 

“Hon’ble Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will also speak about how AP is implementing technology at different avenues for the overall development of the state. Infrastructure finance needs innovation and more and more PPP ventures. Singapore can contribute in this, as we are the financial centre in this part of the world. We can catalyse private infrastructure in many countries, and we have the willingness to work with a variety of cities across the world. I invite all cities to showcase their innovation and ideas at this prestigious forum.” 

The moderator, Professor Clark, said that he looks forward to constructive participation and discussion of ideas. 

The Chief Minister spoke about infrastructure and innovation, and the development of Amaravati in association with Singapore. “By 2050, 66% of world population will be urban population, mainly residing in Asia and Africa. Our state is still overcoming difficulties and working towards our vision of being one of the best destinations by 2050. We have been maintaining double digit growth consistently, and we are the number one in Ease of Doing Business. We are working with goals like a well established power grid, water grid, fiber grid, trunk infrastructure and more. We are providing reliable power at reasonable cost and this will help us nurture a manufacturing hub in our state.”

“We are working with many companies in PPP mode for infrastructure development. Our formula is the 5-10-15 minute policy for Amaravati. People should reach their destinations in 5 minutes for emergency, 10 minutes for social infrastructure and 15 minutes by walk to workplaces. The capital region will have 9 cities and will be a blue and green city. We are engaging the best companies and world’s top architects in building our infrastructure. I would like to extend the invitation to all of you to cooperate with us to help take forward Amaravati”, he said.