UP’s $42 billion Smart City MoU signed with Austin Consulting Group, not Austin University, clarifies state govt

Austin Consulting Group (ACG) of the USA has submitted an investment proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government expressing their interest in the establishment of Austin Smart City of Knowledge in the State.

There were reports in some sections of the press that the MoU has been signed with Austin University, but the UP government has clarified that the MoU has been signed with Austin Consulting Group.

Former cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh who was part of the UP government delegation to San Francisco when the MoU was signed told Indianarrative.com that “the MoU has been signed with Austin Consulting Group and not Austin University as reported in sections of the media. Unnecessary confusion is being created. Secondly and most important MoUs are non-binding for other parties. The UP government after receiving MoUs does due diligence and then facilitates the investment proposal. So there is no risk to the UP government.,” he explained.

The city is proposed to be developed in over 5,000 acres of land in 5 phases. In the first phase, 1000 acres of land will be developed with an investment of USD 7 Billion. In all 5 phases the group is intending to invest USD 42 Billion ) in this project,” according to a UP government statement.

The MoU was signed by Arvind Kumar   Additional Chief Secretary and IDC (Infrastructure and Development Commissioner) of UP in the presence of the state’s finance minister Suresh Khanna.

The representatives of Austin Consulting Group have been invited to the State for a detailed presentation of their investment plan. Post which, Invest UP or designated Departments of Government of Uttar Pradesh will provide necessary facilitation to the  group/investor as per prevailing rules  of the Government of Uttar  Pradesh and Government of India as applicable, the statement explained.

As a precursor to the UP Global Investors Summit, the  Government had organised a series of international roadshows in 22 cities across 17  countries. In one such roadshow held at San Francisco (USA), the Austin Consulting Group  submitted an investment proposal to the delegation of Government of Uttar Pradesh

The Austin Group also informed during the presentation that they are in advanced talks with Egypt  for the establishment of a similar kind of Smart City. The UP government delegation had a detailed presentation from Austin Consulting Group regarding their project in Egypt and their proposed  investment plan for Uttar Pradesh. After preliminary scrutiny, the delegation decided to enter into the standard MoU acknowledging their intent and facilitating  their investment plans.