Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Meets Urban Planning Experts During Singapore Visit

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister(CM) N Chandrababu Naidu, who is on a three-day visit to Singapore starting Wednesday, held meetings with the city-state's Second Minister (Trade and Industry) S Iswaran as well as urban planning experts.

Mr Naidu discussed possibilities for co-operation and other issues with the Singapore minister, an Andhra Pradesh or AP state  government release said in Hyderabad today.

Mr Naidu and his team visited Marina Bay Sands Sky Park, a prominent landmark, and Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) to study Singapore's best urban practices, the release said.

At the CLC, the AP CM was explained about the city-state's best urban planning practices by CLC executive director Khoo Teng Chye.

Singapore has adopted some of the best measures to conserve and manage drinking water and Mr Naidu studied its integrated efforts to minimise solid waste through recycling, purchase of recycled products and provision of waste audits, the release said.

Mr Naidu also met experts from the National Water Agency, and the Public Utilities Board (PUB) of Singapore, the sole body responsible for collection, production, distribution and reclamation of water in the city-state, the release said.

Singapore's best practices include the use of precast box culverts to cut drains on busy roads overnight in order to minimise construction time and traffic disruption, computer modelling to optimise canal design, incorporation of special engineering and landscaping features to retain a river's natural features, the release said.

Mr Naidu took a Singapore River Cruise from Clarke Quay into Marina Bay to study Singapore River clean-up methodology as well as to understand the development of Singapore's River Tourism District, the release said.

This would help Andhra Pradesh develop its capital on the river front and also give a fillip to boost beach tourism in the state, the release said.

A delegation comprising AP State Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu, Municipal Administration Minister P Narayana, Advisor (Communications) Parakala Prabhakar and senior officials from planning, infrastructure and investments, industries are part of the visiting team, the release said.