The Centre for Livable Cities (CLC) of Singapore is keen on monitoring the progress of the State government's efforts to build a world class people’s capital as it sees an opportunity in ‘to learn from Andhra Pradesh' experiment’.
The CLC, the urban planning arm of the Singapore government, is firm in its belief that the capital construction plan of the State will help it learn about things that could not be taken up in Singapore and the experiment would allow the government to do things even better than the Island nation.
One of the thrust area, the Singapore officials feel is the rich agricultural area under the proposed capital region which could be leveraged as a major opportunity.
The Centre is firm that some aspects of the Singapore model of development, where the government had opted for high rises owing to space constraint, would be relevant to the State.
The option for high rises in the capital region is one such plan suggested by the Centre. “You have land and you tend to use it not so effectively. Allow the city (capital) to grow in little space and can build on it subsequently,” a senior official of the CLC said.
“The capital should not just be an administrative capital, but should consider economic, social and other factors. Given the pace of urbanization witnessed in India, the Government should make sure it manages urbanization well,” CLC executive director Khoo Peng Chye said.
Mr. Chye and officials of the Housing and Development Board led by Urban Design department director Lim Shu Ying explained about the strides made by Singapore in its transformation to the present stage to a delegation of journalists who visited the Island nation a few days ago. According to them, the capital city master plan and key development plan, which are expected to be ready by June, would encompass various aspects including physical connectivity links to the capital with other cities.
