Date:27/10/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/10/27/stories/2006102701270500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Hamburg offers its expertise

Staff Reporter

German city says it is keen to work together with Chennai

FORGING TIES: Hamburg Minister for City Development and Environment Michael Freytag (second from right) and his delegation with Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in Chennai on Thursday. — Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: Hamburg is keen to offer Chennai its expertise in achieving sustainable development, the German City State's Minister for City Development and Environment Michael Freytag said here on Thursday.

The strategy essentially involves economic growth through industrialisation while safeguarding the environment.

Mr. Freytag said public transport, and drinking and wastewater management were two areas in which the two cities could cooperate.

Such ties could provide a learning opportunity for Hamburg that shared several similarities with Chennai: from the heavy rainfall to being an industrialised port-city and a growing area, he told a meeting organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI).

Key issue

"We can work together ... to do more," Mr. Freytag declared. He described sustainable development as a key issue that stressed seeking business success while making improvements to protect the environment. Hamburg had done this by forging several public-private partnerships, he said.

Mr. Freytag is leading a delegation that includes senior executives of public firms engaged in water supply and management, and popularising environment friendly public transport buses, particularly those run on fuel cell technology and hydrogen.

Tripartite agreement

As a step towards formalising the cooperation, a tripartite agreement involving Hamburg, SICCI and SUSTAIN, which is a non-government organisation working towards sustainable development was signed at the meeting. Chamber president S. Ramanathan and SUSTAIN trustee M.G. Devasahayam also signed an agreement with Hamburg Wasser, a company engaged in water supply and wastewater management.

Fuel cell technology

Making a presentation on issues concerning sustainable development for Chennai, Mr. Devasahayam said the two cities could cooperate in the area of public transport, especially to promote buses run on fuel cell technology.

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority vice-chairperson Jayanthi said the authority had initiated several measures to decongest the city, including the shifting of the mofussil bus stand and wholesale vegetable and fruit market to Koyambedu.

Outer ring road

It had also acquired land for creating an outer ring road of 67 km. However, it was difficult to meet the infrastructure requirements in the backdrop of the phenomenal growth of the city in the last decade, she said. Director of Industries and Commerce M. Raman said the city stood to gain by leveraging the experience of Hamburg in the area of sustainable development, particularly while implementing the plan to shift polluting small and medium enterprises out of Chennai. While the State Government would allocate places for such relocation, Hamburg could provide the technology for such integrated industrial estates, he said.

Calls on Karunanidhi

Later, Mr. Freytag and his delegation, including Hamburg Wasser chief executive officer Michael Beckereit and Heinrich Klingenberg of hySolutions GmbH, called on the Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at the Secretariat.