Barcelona — capital city of the autonomous community of Catalonia in Spain and one of the smart cities in the world — is apparently in love with Delhi. The reason is not far to seek. Delhi is likely to emerge as a Smart City and developed countries are eyeing upon it as a top-class business destination. The Chief Economic and Commercial Counselor (from the economic and commercial office of Spain in India) has sent an invitation to Chief Secretary of Delhi DM Spolia requesting him to attend the three-day Smart City Expo World Congress to be held from November 18 to 20 in Barcelona. The aim is to explore mega opportunities in Delhi’s urban development sector.
In his letter to Spolia, the economic and commercial counselor enumerates several advantages of visiting Barcelona during the event. “It is an opportunity to show commitment to the Smart City and seek investment for your projects, invite industry connected with building of smart cities industry to set up office and manufacturing base in your State,” stated the letter.
Further, this invitation letter talks abut investment opportunities. “Encourage private sector in your State involved in urban development sector, housing, manufacturing, pollution control equipment, public transport vehicles and water treatment. This Smart City Expo is a meeting point for the Government, companies, entrepreneurs and research centres to show, learn and network ideas to help in future development of the cities,” stated this letter, making it obvious that Barcelona Summit is also about exploring opportunities in the Capital city.
The letter claims that Barcelona — the smart city of Spain — is the leader in urban planning. “Spain is the leader in sustainable urban planning and an international pacesetter. Stimulating new demonstration models reinforces this position. The projects also demonstrate how the technical systems are linked together. Major synergies are achieved by taking a coordinated approach to energy, waste and waste water management. During this conference, you will have the opportunity to meet and interact with senior officials involved in sustainable urban development, city management, companies offering innovative technology solutions and research institutions for successful implementation of such technologies,” stated the letter of invitation forwarded to DM Spolia.
It is obvious that Delhi is being seen as an emerging smart city and it is also being viewed as a big investment destination to make it a world-class city.