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Swiss team in city to finalise projects on energy efficiency

A team of officials from the Swiss agency for development and cooperation along with consultants from the country visited the Coimbatore corporation on Monday. They held a meeting with the city corporation commissioner to finalize projects that could be implemented in the city to make it more energy efficient. The team of delegates have finalized non-motorized transport systems, solid waste management and water supply projects in which solar power would be used. The major topics of discussion were climate change, resilience and sustainability.

The Swiss agency has worked with some cities in China as well. In India, many cities including Rajkot in Gujarat, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Hubli in Karnataka, Siliguri in West Bengal and Jalandhar in Punjab had applied online for their programme a few weeks back. Out of these Siliguri, Udaipur, Coimbatore and Rajkot have been selected. They said they specialized in building maintenance, green energy and solid waste management. They said they wanted the government to ensure water is conserved and recycled so that it could be useful in drought situations.Initially, they will incorporate pilot projects and then share technical expertise. Later, they will also implement projects based on the outcome. "The team will also meet officials on Tuesday and finalize on the projects," said officials. They said they had come up with several technologies that could make the city energy efficient.