India’s infrastructure boom set to benefit S’pore firms, workers
Artist's impression of Amaravati waterfront. Photo: Surbana Jurong Private Limited
SINGAPORE — Companies in Singapore, including the likes of Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Industries, are poised to grab a slice of the growing multi-billion dollar infrastructure pie in India as they prepare to bid for mega development projects in Andhra Pradesh state where an all-new capital city is being carved out.
“Singapore is honoured to have been invited by the Andhra Pradesh Government to master plan and develop its new capital, Amaravati. The master planning phase has been completed today, on schedule. We look forward to continuing our partnership into implementation and development. This collaboration has also opened up more business and investment opportunities in Andhra Pradesh and India for Singapore companies,” said Mr S Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore today (July 20).
He was in Andhra Pradesh to hand over the final master plan for Amaravati to Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, marking the completion of the detailed three-part design that Singapore had agreed to provide under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Republic and Andhra Pradesh in December last year. In a briefing earlier, Mr Iswaran noted that home-grown companies including Ascendas-Singbridge and Sembcorp Industries are gearing up to participate in the next stage of the Amaravati development project.
“From the perspective of India, development of smart cities is on national agenda as outlines by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Andhra Pradesh Capital City project masterplan designed by Singapore is one example of how that vision could be realised,” he said.
“For Singapore, this project has certain amount of bilateral significance. It is an example of how we have been able to contribute to the larger aspirations of India and specifically in the context of the state. At the same time, it is about how Singapore can continue to grow and create opportunities for our businesses and our people.”
“These are areas that play to the strength of many of our companies that have a strong track record and put them in good stead for future projects that may arise in India as well as other markets,” he added.
International Enterprise (IE) Singapore has been sounding out Singaporean companies based on the areas of interest that the Andhra Pradesh government highlighted, Mr Iswaran said. These include waste management, water management, manufacturing and logistics.
The Infrastructure Corp of Andhra Pradesh had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IE Singapore to develop the master plan for Andhra Pradesh’s capital in three stages. A 7,235 sq km capital regional blueprint was delivered on March 30 this year followed by the masterplan for the 125 sq km capital city on May 26.
The Seed Development Master Plan delivered today sets out in detail the land use and infrastructure plans for the start-up area of Amaravati. Covering an area of 16.9 sq km, the Seed Development will rise on the south bank of the Krishna River as the heart of Andhra Pradesh’s new capital city. Its civic district will house the institutions and buildings of the Government of Andhra Pradesh, including the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. It will also include a mix of commercial and residential areas to meet the diverse employment, housing, social, cultural and recreational needs of Amaravati residents.
Drawing on Singapore’s expertise and experience in urban planning and project execution, Surbana Jurong developed the masterplan for Amaravati, which is about 10 times the size of Singapore.
The need for a new capital arose last year after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to create a separate state of Telangana, which will take exclusive possession of Hyderabad in 2024. Until then, Hyderabad will be the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
