Mangaluru: The major thrust of Smart City Mission in the city will be on waterfront area development, Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil S. said here on Monday.

Speaking at an interactive session on the mission projects with the councillors of Mangaluru City Corporation, he said that waterfronts and inland water transport played a pivotal role in the growth of trade and economy of Mangaluru for long. Writings suggest that Uppinangady was once a prominent trade centre for the dispatch of goods and commodities to the hinterland. Goods were being transported from Mangaluru to Uppinangady on the Netravathi.

He said that the waterfront development projects proposed in five packages at an estimated cost of ₹ 235 crore under the mission are still in concept stage.

The Deputy Commissioner said that a total of 65 projects at an estimated cost of ₹ 2,354.60 crore have been proposed under the mission in the city. Of them, 50 projects are area based development ones covering the jurisdiction of eight wards. It meant that they would be taken up within the jurisdiction of only those wards. They covered Court, Central Market, Bunder, Port, Cantonment, Mangaladevi, Hoige Bazzar and Bolara wards having 1,628 acres.

The remaining 15 projects proposed are applicable to the entire city (or pan city).

He said that Mangaluru was selected under the mission on September 20, 2016 and a company named Mangaluru Smart City Ltd. was constituted for implementing the projects proposed on April 6, 2017. Dakshina Kannada district in-charge secretary and also a former Deputy Commissioner of the district V. Ponnuraj is now the chairman of the company.

Mr. Senthil, who is also a director of the company, said that all details of the projects proposed would be made available to the people through a website soon.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the company is not in a haste to take up all projects. They would be implemented only after studying the pros and cons, and also the feasibility factors.

He said that it is not binding on the company to take approval of the city corporation council for all projects proposed. But its details would henceforth be placed before the council for the information of councillors.

The Deputy Commissioner appealed to the councillors to extend their cooperation in the implementation of the projects proposed keeping their political affiliations aside.