German Consul General Ms. Margit Hellwig-Bötte met with the Mayor of Kochi Ms. Soumini Jain to discuss the Smart City Initiative. Germany is supporting Kochi in the Smart City project with the requisite technical and financial assistance. The Mayor and the Consul General agreed that “a city is smart when it improves the livelihood of the common man and woman!”scities_kochi

The Smart city intiative by German development bank KfW aims to connect the Kochi metro with the ferry metro and inland bus services. This integrated model of connecting the land and water projects can set an example for future smart city networks in Kochi. It will help to improve the lives of millions who spend a lot of time travelling making it an economical and environment friendly approach to the transport challenges in Kochi.

The visit was coordinated by the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (c-hed)