SICF organises a meeting with the CEO of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor
De izq. a dcha.: Sunil Lal, Antonio Escámez y Amitabh Kant
02.12.2013

SICF organises a meeting with the CEO of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor

Amitabh Kant: “Once you make it in India, you will continue to be successful there”

On November 18, a meeting was held at Santander’s Financial City complex with Amitabh Kant, CEO of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, which was attended by the most prominent Spanish companies in the infrastructure industry to learn more about the project.

Amitabh Kant gave a detailed presentation of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project and emphasised how young the Indian population is and how important it is to create opportunities for a population pyramid in which 72% is under 30.

Kant stressed the need for an urban development and infrastructure project of this kind due to the current difficulty of transporting cargo by road and sea: “With the DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor), transport times in the West of India will go from 14 days to 14 hours by 2017.” He also emphasised how the corridor will transform the country by creating 24 cities, whose planning “is structured around technology, with a clear focus on Smart & Intelligent Cities.” This approach is also reflected in the development of public transport, cycle lanes and pedestrian areas, creating “compact cities, with neighbourhoods and reasonable walking distances for pedestrians.”

Kant went on to praise Spain, which has “Europe’s newest infrastructure, so Spanish companies should partner with the best Indian companies.” During the discussion following his address, the Ambassador of India mentioned the possibilities opened up by this project regarding the development of transport networks in general and the construction of low-cost housing facilities. Amitabh Kant gave an overview of the country’s political situation and made clear that the forthcoming elections will not negatively impact the project, which has the support of all political parties and which “will be developed over the next four decades.”

The CEO of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor thanked the Ambassador and the Spain India Council Foundation for the opportunity to present the project to leading Spanish infrastructure companies. He highlighted that it is already “a long-term project trying to make India great, hence the importance of working only with the best planners and the best companies.” Additionally, he encouraged Spanish private companies to look for good local partners to help them access the domestic market, especially since “95% of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project will be carried out through international tenders.” Kant concluded his address by advocating for the need for Spain “to look at Asia and India, as the demographics work in our favour. Your future is not in Spain, but in India.” He went on to say that “Indian companies have done well by looking outside their own country. Now it’s time for Spanish companies to do the same.”

After the meeting, Amitabh Kant attended the Smart Cities trade show, which took place in Barcelona on November 19-21. Kant has held important positions in the Government of India and is the author of several works that reflect the country’s significant transformation over the past few years. India is now a newly-emerged economy, the world’s 10th economic power and its 2nd most populated country. Its growth rate for 2013 is estimated at 5.9%, according to the IMF.

More images in the Gallery

PDF – DMIC presentation part 1

PDF – DMIC presentation part 2

 

Contact

Plaza Marqués de Salamanca, 8
Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores, Unión Europea y de Cooperación 
28006 Madrid (ESPAÑA)
T +34 91 379 17 21
contacto@spain-india.org

 

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