Vijayawada: Under the Australia-AP Economic Cooperation Working Group, Australia and AP have identified water cooperation as a priority agenda item. Representatives from the Australian Consulate-General and the Australian Water Partnership met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday as part of the Australian water delegation to AP to discuss potential collaboration around the establishment of a Water Centre for Excellence and Water Science University in AP. The team also proposed to collaborate with the existing cities and Amaravati for exploring fruitful opportunities in ‘water sensitive cities.’
Subsequently, the Australian team visited APCRDA and presented to the commissioner and officials about collaborating in building Amaravati as a world-class ‘water sensitive capital city’. The proposed AP-Australia Water Sensitive Cities Partnership serves as a strategic first step towards the Water Centre for Excellence. It presents an opportunity for Australia to share its world-class capabilities in relation to urban water management by partnering with one of India’s most ambitious urban development projects — Amaravati.
By modernising and leap-frogging the linear evolution of water services, the aim of the project is to make Amaravati an exemplar for all of India regarding water sensitivity. CEO of the CRCWSC, Tony Wong, along with , Australian Consul-General to South India Sean Kelly and his team were present in the delegation. CRDA commissioner Cherukuri Sreedhar thanked the Government of Australia, and CRCWSC for coming forward with such an innovative collaboration for Amaravati.
