Agra to become smart city with Japanese aid

September 23, 2014

It may not have an influential member of parliament like Narendra Modi in its kitty, but when it comes to reaping the fruits of its decades old relations with Japan, Agra is not willing to fall short of Varanasi in attracting Japanese investments.

The home to the first post-WWII Leprosy research center in Asia established by the Japanese government, Agra also plays a gracious host to over 30 thousand Japanese tourists every year, who come to visit the Taj Mahal and the JALMA institute for Leprosy Research that had been established by a fellow countryman Dr. M Miyazaki.

Now, the Japanese government is preparing a detailed roadmap to invest in Agra, to develop it into a Smart City. A delegation of 100 Japanese experts will be arriving in Agra in December to study the city’s infrastructure and sign the necessary MOUs for the city’s transformation.

Talking to India Today, local industrialist and exporter Puran Dawar, who was a part of the six-member delegation of Agra industrialists who went to Japan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that the delegation presented a brief outline of the developments that could be made possible in Agra with minimum investment before the Mayor of Kyoto Daisaku Kadokawa.

Upon viewing the presentation, the Mayor agreed to send a delegation of experts to Agra who will prepare a study report on how to develop Agra into a smart city, while preserving its heritage.

He said that the government of Hiroshima has also agreed to develop joint ventures with the industrialists of India and if things kept going the way they were, Agra could soon be on the focal point of pollution-free industrial development as visualized by the Japanese government. Dawar said that the Japanese were made aware of the fact the manpower in India is a lot cheaper to hire than other countries.

The primary target of the Agra Development Foundation, which will be spearheading the developmental agenda of Agra, is to obtain Japanese aid in developing eco-friendly energy solutions for Agra, which could include solar energy as well as other low-carbon emission techniques. Energy conservation and digitalization of the entire city’s infrastructure is another avenue where the Japanese aid will be invaluable.

Source:India Today