Bhubaneswar, March 2: The housing and urban development department is planning to take the help of Singapore-based urban planners for effective implementation of the smart city project in Bhubaneswar.

The issue was discussed at a high-level meeting held here today in presence of housing and urban development minister Puspendra Singh Deo and Singapore consul-general Ajit Singh along with other top government officials.

The administration may ink a pact with Singapore-based Urban Redevelopment Authority and Centre for Liveable Cities.

"We had a preliminary discussion with the officials and are planning to rope in Singapore-based urban developers for effective implementation of the smart city project in Bhubaneswar. Their expertise will prove beneficial for the city," said Singh Deo.

Centre for Liveable Cities is a body that works in areas such as research, capability development, knowledge platform and advisory, while Urban Redevelopment Authority focuses on sustainable development of the cities.

Singh Deo further said that although Singapore was a smaller state, it represents itself dynamically on the global map.

"Singapore has the expertise in urban planning and we want to build the capital city on a similar line. We will send our officials to Singapore on an exposure visit and will learn their urban planning systems," said Singh Deo.

Consul-general Ajit Singh said that Singapore would like to share their experience with Bhubaneswar. "We have the expertise and would like to share it with the city administration. We are eager to built the relationship and help develop the smart city of Bhubaneswar," said Singh.

The state government has recently formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for implementation of the smart city project in Bhubaneswar under the chairmanship of development commissioner R. Balakrishnan. The SPV will shortly get Rs 200 crore as its first instalment from the Union government for beginning the project work.

According to the proposal of the smart city, the focus lies on two major components such as development of the Bhubaneswar Town Centre District (BTCD) on 985 acres from Bapuji Nagar to Satya Nagar and providing smart solutions for better urban mobility and waste management systems.

The city administration will built cycle tracks along the BTCD and will also open a cycle rental centres in the area. The city administrations will spend Rs 4,094.89 crore for BTCD, while Rs 442.26 crore will be spend on the pan city solutions such as waste management and urban mobility.