With the completion of a digital plan for Dighi Port industrial area in Maharashtra, the Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor development corporation (DMICDC) project has taken another step forward.

According to a statement issued by IBM, which is helping DMICDC in building 500 smart cities spanning six states, the integrated communication technology (ICT) master plan for Dighi Port industrial area provides a futuristic roadmap for the area including the use of technology to deliver services to business and citizens.

The services that will be provided include- monitoring of energy consumption, traffic visualization, improved water management, and enhanced public safety.

Using IBM's smarter cities software, the intelligent operations centre, which is a centralised command centre, will be established to integrate and interconnect information of various departments and agencies throughout the city to improve safety, anticipate and prevent problems, and improve the quality of life for citizens.

The corporation is working at building a corridor running from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Dholera in Gujarat.

“We are pleased to have IBM as one of the key partners for this project to develop a city based on international standards in close proximity to Dighi Port. This will enhance economic growth, global competitiveness, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability in select cities,” said Amitabh Kant, chief executive officer and managing director, DMICDC.

Kant further said that given IBM’s knowledge on smarter cities coupled with their rich experience will surely help in realizing the corporation’s vision of providing best citizen services and better living conditions across the corridor. He added that it will also help enable better governance of these cities in real time.

The master plan developed by IBM aims at effective management of key services of the cities such as management of clean water, energy, transportation, public safety, education, and healthcare using smart devices, sensors and intelligent communications. Large amount of big data streaming from these devices will be connected to a central command centre where city administrators can record and respond to events quickly and in a more coordinated manner.

The roadmap also makes recommendations to help DMICDC find ways to reduce costs and power usage, increase efficiency and improve quality of management across the township.

“This project provides the foundation to use technology in new ways to drive economic development, job growth and improve the quality of life for citizens,” said Rahul Sharma, executive director, partner & smarter cities leader, global business services, IBM India/South Asia.

The new cities being built in the Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor is expected to ease the pressure of urbanization on existing cities by providing alternative to the rural migrating population. The manufacturing industries in the corridor will create new jobs and drive the economy of the country.