Chennai Smart City planning to expand CITIIS scheme to 15 more Corporation schools

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
Chennai Smart City is planning to expand the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) to 15 more schools in Chennai Corporation and is seeking additional Rs 80 crore from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It has also sought to extend the project by another one year.

The project,  one among the 12 successful project proposals among 65 under the CITIIS Challenge Initiative across India, is aimed at improving learning outcomes in Greater Chennai Corporation schools. The project already covers 28 schools across 18 campuses . The total project outlay of the project is Rs 95.25 core, out of which Rs 19.05 Cr (20%) is being borne by the Chennai Smart City Limited. The remaining Rs 76.2 Crore (80%) is a loan funded by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) with a commitment of repayment of 50% by the state and Centre respectively.

The decision to extend the CITIIS 1.0 program, which came to an end on June 30, 2023, was taken after Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs extended the project to June 30, 2024. The plan to extend the project was to implement the remaining digital and other soft components of the project. The digital infrastructure include school management system, campus Internet, Hi- Tech Lab and Smart Boards.,

The project envisages a complete transformation of selected GCC schools across various components such as physical infrastructure (upgradation of 28 Schools), digital infrastructure, teaching pedagogy, teacher training, sports and extracurriculars etc. It is a multidimensional project with niche features.

It is learnt that over Rs. 83 crore worth of contracts or works are already under implementation with physical infrastructure upgradation works nearing completion. Around 10 schools have already been handed over after completion of works and all physical infrastructure works are expected to be completed by this month.

Meanwhile, the state is exploring the possibility of taking part in CITIIS 2.0 challenge, a four year programme. The funding for CITIIS 2.0 will include a loan of Rs 1760 crore from France Development bank and German development bank KfW and a technical assistance grant of Rs106 crore (EUR12million) from the European Union.