Naidu seeks Japan's expertise for AP's capital

Hyderabad, Nov 26 (INN): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu said that he wants a capital with Japan's expertise and incorporate best practices into it. 'I want to build the capital on both sides of the Krishna River,' he said, adding Vizag too is on his agenda.

Addressing a meeting at Nakata Wast Management site in Fukuoka city, the Chief Minister claimed that Andhra Pradesh has many similarities with Japan. 'We have a 1,000 km-long coastline, natural resources and tourism potential.'

On the third day of his visit to Japan, the Chief Minister and his team visited the Nakata Waste Management site in Fukuoka city. Following a 13-minute film on the city's waste management system, a presentation on landfills was made. In the presentation, the Chief Minister was briefed about the semi-aerobic method which is environment-friendly.

This model, developed at the Fukuoka University, was experimented for three years. This is a cost-effective method which is being implemented in several countries like China, Iran etc. The Chief Minister was informed that the landfill can be reclaimed and used for residential or farming purposes. These landfills can be converted into useable land resources.

At the UN Habitat Centre in Fukuoka, Deputy Mayor of Fukuoka Atsushiko Sadakari said that Fukuoka has been identified as one of the 38 best cities in the world by the United Nations. Sadakari said that they would be happy to share their knowledge in building Andhra Pradesh's capital city. 'I know how much progress India and your state has made in these years,' he added.

Delivering the welcome address, Akihiko Fukushima, director general of International Bureau of Fukuoka Prefecture said following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, we expect Japan-India relations to take a turn for more cooperation. Drawing a comparison between India and Japan during his address, the Chief Minister said that India is nearly 10 times the size of Japan, yet Japan is a bigger economy.

Consul General of India Aseem Mahajan said that we will facilitate fruitful long-term relationship between AP and Fukuoka.

The AP delegation also visited the Fukuoka Tower, built in 1989 in the center of the waterfront area 'Seaside Momochi', to represent the city. It is a monument built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the enforcement of the Fukuoka City organization. ACROS Fukuoka is a venue which hosts a variety of events.

Later, the Chief Minister and his team visited the San-no storm water reservoir site for flood-control management.

Following floods in 1999, a deep structure was built where all the water from the city gets collected. Roads and city are drained by the storm water system. The water collected in the deep structure is pumped back into the reservoirs.

The Chief Minister said that AP can learn flood-control measures which improve management of storm/flood water and enhance water availability from this system. Given that Fukuoka is a pioneer in using reclaimed water and has very low water leakage in their water supply system, AP is exploring a possibility of seeking Japan's support in buildings water grid.

In the final meeting for the day, the Chief Minister and his team visited Smart Grid Community (Fuji Electric). Following this, the Mayor of Kitakyushu City gave a presentation on environmental policy. Kitakyushu is Japan's first eco-town project.

The city administration involves industry, public sector and consumers in the creation of integrated systems to make it eco-friendly. Kitakyushu City is being developed as a pilot project under the 'Japan Smart City' program.

The Chief Minister was informed that the smart grid monitors the consumption of energy and forecasts the demand for the next 24 hours to make energy management efficient. It enables them to share energy with other grids if the demand is less from one grid and more from the others.

Naidu said that in Andhra Pradesh too energy consumption gets monitored. 'However, we do not have an energy forecast system. That can be a takeaway for us,' he added.

The Chief Minister explained his plans to develop three mega cities and 14 smart cities in Andhra Pradesh and sought Fuji Electric's help in building these cities. The smart city also has dynamic pricing system and gives incentives to consumers who respond positively to environment concerns.

Naidu invited Fuji Electric to do a feasibility study for a smart grid project in Andhra Pradesh. For this, Fuji Electric said it will send its representatives to our state by December-January.

The company has already sanctioned permission to do a feasibility study for a smart grid project in Panipat of Haryana.