Cisco to develop Vizag as first smart city

New Delhi: Visakhapatnam will be the first city to be taken up by Cisco Systems, Global information technology networking company, for developing as a smart city.

Cisco informed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday that its development model for Visakhapatnam would be adopted in the other smart cities — Allahabad and Ajmer.

Besides setting up a skill development centre to provide training, the company will be working with the state government in digitizing the education and healthcare sectors.

According to an official press release, Menon had informed the chief minister that the development model adopted by Cisco for Visakhapatnam would be replicated in other cities too. Naidu said that a task force would be constituted to follow up on the implementation aspects.

Cisco has also evinced interest in working on disaster management technologies as the state is hit by at least two cyclones every year. The chief minister was also stated to have held a meeting with Singapore consultants and advisors on the development of a new capital city.

The consultants said they would assist the state’s Capital Region Development Authority to strategies on key areas of the capital such as infrastructure planning and development, housing, solid waste management and integrated transport systems.