Agreement inked for Mohali master plan

A Singapore-based consultant will prepare the master plan for the development of Mohali. An agreement in this regard was inked today in Chandigarh by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) with MIS Jurong International Private Ltd (a Singapore government-owned company) for preparing the regional development plan and the master plans of the areas and towns situated within the jurisdiction of GMADA.

The agreement was signed between Krishan Kumar, chief administrator, GMADA and Seetho Kum Chum, vice-president, Jurong International, in the presence of RI Singh, chief secretary, Punjab and Arun Goel, secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Raymond Kwok and Rapheal Chua, who accompanied Chum.

The consultants have been hired to prepare the regional development plan of the whole area of GMADA spreading over 1,350 sq km. The consultant are expected to complete the work within a year from the date of execution of the agreement and will be given $1.8 million as consultancy fee.

In addition to regional development plan and the master plan, MIS Jurong International will also prepare a vision document and advise the state government/GMADA on regulations, by-laws, policy and other related issues, based on their experience in Singapore and elsewhere in the world.

MIS Jurong International will also propose the design of one commercial sector, one residential sector which can be replicated by the respective authorities subsequently.

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal also asked the consultants to plan the optimum utilisation of unused government land in Amritsar and Jalandhar. According to the sources, the consultants' teams, accompanied by the government officials, visited the sites.

According to the Punjab government officials, MIS Jurong International is a de facto government-owned business concern being a wholly-owned subsidiary of JTC Corporation, which is a statutory board of the Ministry of Trade and Development, Singapore.

The consultants prior to this were associated as master planners for the Suzhou city project in China (part of China-Singapore government's joint initiative) as well as the more recent Biopolis, Fusionpolis and the Jurong Business Park in Singapore.

Earlier, the Jurong team met the Badal and gave him a detailed presentation on their experience and their perception and vision of Punjab. The team will incorporate the best international practices being followed into the town planning.

They also took up important projects in Asia and Africa. It contributed its consultations to the SEZ in Navi Mumbai and Mahindra's SEZ in Jaipur.