AECOM is providing the masterplan and sector specific smart infrastructure project plans for the Visakhapatnam (Vizag) Smart City in Andhra Pradesh, India. Our team has recently begun its on-site strategic planning process. This represents a significant step forward towards achieving Vizag’s goal of becoming a smart city with integrated infrastructure planning.  The project received a grant award from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) in February 2016 to support Vizag’s urban renewal.

Through an agreement with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, AECOM working as part of a joint venture will advance Vizag’s efforts to become more sustainable and business-friendly environment through the development of infrastructure, communications and data systems. Specifically, our team will conduct baseline analysis, formulate an overarching smart city development strategy, draft infrastructure-specific smart city project guidelines, and prepare action plans for two capital improvement projects.

AECOM was selected, in part, due to its ongoing and past innovative work in developing a number of smart city projects throughout the country. Our team of experts is currently involved on a number of smart cities across India.

This master planning study will build upon the momentum of Vizag’s recent success of getting selected amongst the top 20 cities in India as part of Smart City Mission under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), where Vizag competed with 97 other cities. The smart city challenge program was initiated by Government of India in partnership with Bloomberg.

Planning for Vizag’s infrastructure upgrades is expected to continue over the next few years. Phase 1 of this study will conclude in July 2016, followed by the initiation of the remaining phases. Developers will be working with local leaders to identify opportunities, create strategies and help to redefine the infrastructure of the region.