India, Japan to build 24 green cities between Delhi, Mumbai
In an effort to strengthen ties between two world powers, India and Japan have announced plans to construct two dozen green cities in the proposed Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
The Economic Times of India reports that the green cities will include clean energy sources, a 24-hour supply of drinking water, waste and water recycling systems and bicycle and walking tracks.
Work has already begun on pilot projects in seven of the cities. The entire corridor spans six Indian states and is "the most ambitious infrastructure project India has launched with Japan, a world leader in green technologies."
The expected cost: $50 to $90 billion.
The timeline: five to seven years.
The Times calls it a "green alliance," and it's not just between governments, either: major Japanese companies like Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Toshiba will aid in designing and building the eco-friendly towns, which aim to do away with cars and other forms of polluting transportation.
The nations have organized a Global Eco Business Form on November 30 to provide a boost of energy, so to speak, to green business initiatives. Top green experts such as Masakazu Toyoda (energy) and Ryuji Yanagihara (cities) will attend.
For Japan, it's a chance to deliver its expertise to India, which is much further behind in greening its economy and society.
For India, it's a chance to catch up -- not to mention rival nearby neighbor China.
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com