Austrade media release
17 March 2010
India’s largest urban infrastructure project, Lavasa City, is looking for Australian expertise in sports, education, tourism, hospitality and leisure, with company executives visiting this week.
Lavasa City is an initiative of India’s largest infrastructure firm, Hindustan Construction Company.
Austrade’s New Delhi-based Senior Trade Commissioner, Peter Linford said, “Lavasa is India’s first planned hill city and a US$10 billion development project.
“The company has the budget to source the best of the best and attracting Australian expertise is firmly on their agenda.”
Mr Linford who returns to Australia next week to speak at the Winning Business in India and South Asia seminars said that there is increasing interest from India in sourcing Australian goods and services.
“India is our fourth largest export destination, with merchandise exports increasing 65 per cent to $15.4 billion in 2008-09.
“India’s youthful demographic with their significant spending power and increasingly western tastes are driving consumption and demanding new choices in leisure and recreation,” Mr Linford said.
President of Lavasa, Rajgopal Nogja said the aim of their visit was to attract expertise that would make Lavasa City both environmentally and economically sustainable in the long-term.
“Australia has established excellent infrastructure in its cities with a population of only 21 million. In spite of the disadvantage of distance, Australia successfully attracts a huge tourist population.
“We’d like to learn from and partner with Australian firms to develop Lavasa City and to lift urban development in India to global standards,” Mr Nogja said.
Lavasa has received significant recognition for the development including ‘Best Master Plan’ from the American Congress for New Urbanism, and an Award of Excellence from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Mr Nogja and senior company representatives visited theme parks in the Gold Coast, Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Brisbane and plan to visit the Sydney Opera House and Olympic Park before heading to Melbourne.
The company is looking to source sports management services, green building products and technology, and find suitable partners to establish business, hospitality, entertainment parks, and residential education campuses. The development project currently has over 100 international partners including Hilton, Oxford University, NASA (Space Theme Park), Accor Hotels, Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne and the Nick Faldo Golf Academy.
Export-ready Australian companies offering niche or competitive products and services are best placed to make the most of the opportunities.
For more information on doing business with India or to attend Austrade’s Winning Business in India and South Asia seminars, contact Austrade on 13 28 78.
Available for interviews: Rajgopal Nogja (Lavasa) and Peter Linford (Austrade)
ENDS
Media contact
Purnima Ganapathy, Senior Media Adviser, Ph: 02 9390 2319, M: 0419 127 577
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