Chennai can take a page out of Singapore’s book
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Singapore works and the evidence of it can be seen to have grown with every visit. The freedom from ideological claptrap seems to produce stunning results for the city-state that has enjoyed a single party rule (People’s Action Party) for decades now.
The city seems to be on an eternal growth path with the new developments taking place a testimony to the years spent in planning ahead.
It’s no accident that one of the world’s highest per capita incomes is that of 5 million Singaporeans.
The attention paid to infrastructure is so meticulous it’s not a wonder that the city expands effortlessly.
The connectivity to the northwest has been solved with Asia’s longest road tunnel of 9 kms on the ‘KPE’, which is a spanking new eight lane dual carriage expressway with four lanes in each large tunnel.
The rumour is metro rail stations have already been built for the northeast and kept under wraps for future expansion as connecting stations by rail is much the simpler task that can be taken on anytime.
The ease with which you can slip into a taxi after taking a mere five steps out of the terminal makes for an amazing experience even for people who may have trotted the world using many fancy air terminals.
The aviation gateway is the finest introduction to the hyper efficiency of a city-state that vaulted to first world standards in just a few decades as development was not so apparent to visitors even at the start of the ‘80s.
It’s not all about infrastructure either. Also built into the planning is leisure and entertainment. What has been done in the downtown bay area is quite remarkable.
The Marina Bay Sands experience is quite out of the world. Name the luxury brand and it is there in store after store in the 3 iconic buildings crowned by the spectacular SkyPark.
One can get nervous just watching the swimmers stand by the edge of the pool on the 57th floor as there is apparently nothing between them and the city below.
The casino is tucked away almost unostentatiously although it is the money spinner that drives the MBS.
It’s also about lifestyle in fine dining - a gourmet lunch at the Punjab Grill of Jiggs Kalra is of a quality that may not be readily available in India - and entertainment in the form of theatres and the Art-Science museum, which had quite a fascinating Andy Warhol exhibition (15 minutes eternal) that was an eye opener to the creativity of a very famous artist.
The MBS enterprise costing several billion dollars of investment is testimony to the kind of optimism surrounding Singapore’s economy.
The government, with a battery of highly paid bureaucrats and technocrats, also takes an interest in developing the city as well as offering its citizens a lifestyle besides healthcare.
There is a great public-private development story behind many new projects that can serve as models for our city. There is so much Singapore can teach us.
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