Venkaiah Naidu woos global investors with $140-bn opportunity in urban sector

NEW DELHI: Wooing global investors, Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu today said in Barcelona that opportunities worth $140 billion are waiting to be tapped in the urban sector of India, which is planning to develop 100 smart cities in the next few years.

He said the government has relaxed the FDI norms in real estate and construction while inaugurating the 4th 'Smart City Expo World Congress' in Spain.

Naidu was invited as the Chief Guest for the event by the Mayor of Barcelona, which is considered as a model smart city globally.

The Minister is leading a 35-member Indian delegation to the Smart City Congress comprising Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal, other elected representatives, senior officials from states, urban planners and experts and academicians, according to a statement.

Naidu informed participants that the Indian government's initiatives in urban sector offer an investment opportunity of about USD 140 billion over the next 20 years, which translates to about Rs 42,000 crore per year.

Informing that India's urban development model is primarily based on large scale domestic and foreign private investments, Naidu said, the government has recently liberalised FDI norms in real estate and construction sector.

In his inaugural address, Naidu highlighted India's efforts towards building 100 smart cities are aimed at addressing the concerns about energy and water consumption, inclusive and sustainable urbanisation, climate change and urban governance.

He said that building smart cities, ensuring basic infrastructure in 500 cities and towns, development of heritage cities and providing houses for all the urban poor are daunting tasks but the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to convert the challenges of growing urbanisation into an opportunity, since urbanisation is a proven engine of economic growth.

Stating that several initiatives are being taken to improve the 'Ease of Doing Business' in India, Naidu invited the participating countries and corporate to take advantage of investment opportunities in India's urban development sector.

Naidu lauded Barcelona city for adopting smart city practices to emerge as a model city in the world. He said, India would like to gain from the experiences of planning and execution of smart city practices of Barcelona.

India is also venturing to conserve and augment heritage in different cities, he added.

Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, Antoni Vives, in his address said, with Modi taking over as the Prime Minister, the global perception about India has quickly turned for better and this goes to prove what determined and visionary leadership could do for any country.