Bhubaneswar, Nov. 6: The state government will showcase the smart city project in a big way at the forthcoming Make in Odisha Conclave, to be held here from November 30, to lure investors.

According to plan, the authorities will divide the smart city into five sub-sectors in keeping with the proposal. The sectors to be highlighted at the conclave would be water management, mobility, housing and real estate, environment management and information technology.

Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited will also get a kiosk in the conclave and exhibit its projects that are worth investing in. The administration has appointed expert officers for the five sectors to create attractive exhibits.

A special plenary session will also be held at the conclave on smart city on December 1. The administration also plans to hold separate discussions and presentations under each sub-sector of the smart city project.

After topping the smart city list in January, the Centre gave the state capital a first-time grant of Rs 200 crore for execution of various projects. This grant was part of the total project cost of Rs 4,537.15 crore.

"The smart city project is huge and needs heavy investment. It cannot be completed only by using funds from the Centre and the state," said an official of the housing and urban development department.

"We are already in talks with organisations such as the International Finance Corporation, Japan International Cooperation Agency and others for investing in the project. We now have the opportunity to showcase the city in the Make In Odisha conclave where investors from around the world will participate. We will give them an overview of the benefits of investing in the project," said the official.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they plan to source the money for execution of the projects from various central schemes including Amrut as well as from the state government and private investors. "Work on the smart city project has begun with the revamp of the railway station area," said Jena.

Chief executive officer of the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited Veenil Krishna said according to the project proposal nearly Rs 4,094 crore would be spent to develop the Bhubaneswar Town Centre District along with Janpath. Another Rs 442.26 crore will be spent on pan-city solutions, including waste management and urban mobility.

"We are in the process of preparing a request for proposal and inviting tenders for various projects. We aim to float tenders for nearly 13 projects by the end of next March," said Krishna.

Saheed Nagar resident Aman Mahapatra said the smart city was indeed a huge project and would definitely need major investments.

"The government should showcase the city at the conclave. They should look for such opportunities in other parts of the country and the world to get investments," said Aman, who works for private bank.