E-Conference on Urban Infrastructure 2020 – Deploying Innovation and Technologies
Hyderabad: Indian Chamber of commerce (ICC) along with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt of India, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Govt of Telangana and National academy of construction (NAC) as knowledge partner jointly organized an e-conference on ‘URBAN INFRA 2020’ today.
Addressing this web conference, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Housing Urban affairs, Government of India, said, “Today our 100 cities are ODF open defecation free, almost 1400 are ODF + and 500 ODF ++ and now we are focusing that we become 100 % pf the cities ODF ++ by 2024.
In the garbage issue the progress has been tremendous we started with around 17 to 18 % of garbage to be treated, today we have nearly 68 % garbage and other production also increased by 68% and we have long way to go by 2030 before we should treated to 100%.
Our cities should look Green and clean. We also need to provide infrastructure like water With Amruth scheme around 500 cities whose population more than 100000.”
In his welcome address Shri Pradeep Sureka, Senior Vice President, Indian Chamber of commerce said, “Urban centres form the engine that fuel economic growth across the world, and consequently contain the highest population concentrations. Nearly 31% of India’s current population lives in urban areas contributing to 63% of India’s GDP and with increasing urbanisation, urban areas are expected to house 40% of India’s population and contribute to 75% of India’s GDP by 2030.”
In his Special address Sri K Bikshapati, Director General, National Academy Construction, said, “Urban population has grown to 34% and likely to be more than 50% by 2050 these are the estimates of World Bank and international Agencies. Every citizen wants to travel or reach his work place within a time of 30 – 40 mins if someone is consuming more time to reach workspace then feels that his life is impacted. In this regard transportation and Highway infrastructure is one of the major components which every urban city is looking for.”
In his Theme address Mr. Rajiv Reddy, Chairman, ICC Southern Regional Council, said, “India is one of the major emerging economies. Like other emerging economies it is undergoing an urban revolution. Its cities are experiencing a massive growth of population. However, to attain advanced stages of the economy urbanization in India needs to more sustainable.
India’s urban infrastructure has gaps which may lead to unsustainable growth. To close this gap requires huge investment from both Government and Private sector. An investment of INR 5.5 lakh cr has been estimated by 2022 for Urban Infrastructure Sector in India. Considering the magnitude of investments, it is essential to create a comprehensive investment eco-system to foster implementation of projects in the sector. Private capital alone is unlikely to fill much of the investment gap in urban infrastructure. The Government will have to finance a larger share of the infrastructure investment requirement.”
“Today, new technologies in construction are being developed; and what seemed like future tech 10-20 years ago—connected equipment and tools, telematics, mobile apps, autonomous heavy equipment, drones, robots, augmented and virtual reality, Internet of Things (IoT), Sensors, Geospatial Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and 3D printed buildings—are here, being deployed and used on construction sites across the world. It is also expected that there will be wider use of technology in construction and construction management in the future as companies realise the long-term efficiency and cost savings of such techniques,” Mr. Reddy added.
In his Vote of thanks Dr. Y. Kiron Kumar, Chairman, ICC Southern Council Expert Committee said, “The infrastructure projects are highly capital intensive and funding had been one of the major impediments in achieving the infrastructure goals. India needs to expand dramatically the sources and volume of available infrastructure financing.
This will not be possible without private-sector participation, which in turn requires a business environment that ensures adequate return on investment, transparency in procurement, and high-quality governance and regulation.’
He further added “Migration of large population to urban centres is causing new cities to emerge and existing ones to expand. India must seize the opportunity to adopt green urban planning early on: mass-transport systems should link satellite cities to ports and megacities, and new cities should be eco-friendly and energy-conserving. The smart cities initiative of the Government of India is a step in right direction, with a clear goal of achieving sustainable development in cities so as to make up for the current infrastructure gap. It is critical to draw up the basic framework for development of smart cities in India.”