UST: News

Victor Baburin about the development of SkyWay Group of Companies' projects in India

Here is to your attention an interview with the Deputy General Director for development of SkyWay Technologies Co. Victor Baburin about the development of SkyWay Group of Companies' projects in India.

Translation of the video:

Just recently we have completed our large tour, a large trip across the Asian region. It started on May 6 in India. Our Company participated in a major exhibition Smart Cities.

A bit of background. "Smart Cities" is a program acting for several years in India now. Indians have conducted a contest selecting a certain number of cities bidding to get a Smart City status, worked out a financing program and now started to think what a smart city is. What technologies transform a city in a smart one? Before the exhibition, on May 9 we have signed an agreement in the residence of the state of Himachal Pradesh in New Delhi, proceeded with official events, including those for journalists.

On May 10-12 the exhibition Smart Cities was held in New Delhi. Our prime purpose of the trip to India was to participate in it. We have prepared a display stand, rather large for the scale of the exhibition. We wanted to present there the concept "From a smart city to a smart state", because smart cities singly are just pointed innovative settlements. And only their unification in a network with highly effective transport solutions allows to pass over from separate smart cities to a commutated smart state. That was our main idea that we wanted to share at the exhibition.

Respectively, our first purpose in this trip was to participate in the exhibition. The second purpose was to continue work with the city of Dharamshala, which is also a Smart city, it is included in this program. As you know from our news releases this work started last year. The second purpose of our trip was to establish certain formal relations with the state of Himachal Pradesh and to sign an MOU.

At the exhibition, we demonstrated models of high-speed and urban rolling stock, a motor-wheel and video presentations. One of innovative approaches to the demonstration of SkyWay technology was the use of a virtual reality helmet so that every visitor of the exhibition having put it on the head could feel himself either inside a unibike or a unibus, see the interior of the rolling stock and the view around while travelling.

By the good old tradition, the SkyWay booth was very popular starting from the top executives. We also had a separate small event. The Chairman, the Manager of that exhibition visited us and had a special joint opening of our display stand, which was later highlighted in the official journals of the exhibition at the proposal of that Manager. Many people came to us. Ordinary interested people, technological experts and officials. As I said earlier, India is a huge targeted project for us, therefore promotion of SkyWay Company there is one of the essential trends in our business development.

We were also offered to take part in a special panel discussion under the title "Strategic roadmap for India's development". Anatoly Yunitskiy addressed the audience of that panel discussion with his visionary message. It was just the concept we wanted to share at the exhibition Smart Cities, i.e. "From a smart city to a smart state". It is the idea of transforming a country to a Smart Country through the use of highly efficient transport systems, new environmental technologies, new principles of displacement of population and building of cities, the ways to transform separated points of smart cities into a single chain of a smart linear city and converting a state into a smart state.

Since I was often busy at various meetings, I managed to stay at the display stand for only several hours. Our colleagues from our team were doing most of the work with the visitors. A number of our Indian partners helped them. The exhibition was very impressive, because it was obvious Indians were eager to develop. They have huge energy, a great potential inside the country. As I see, they have a demand for development. They actively desire to take the leading positions, including the use of newest technologies, newest notions, because "Smart City" is quite a new concept. They speak about it and they speak not at the level of one city, but at the level of an entire strategy that includes dozens of cities.

After completing the events at the Smart Cities exhibition, we went to the city of Dharamshala, where we have made a presentation of SkyWay project for representatives of the City Administration, City Council. After that, at the invitation of Dalai Lama's representatives, we have visited his residence. We had a very warm-hearted meeting and we had the honor to get acquainted with one of the great people of our time.

After Dharamshala we got back to New Delhi, because we had planned a number of meetings with engineering and manufacturing Companies, for example, with Tata Group. We discussed with them the issues of engaging local experts and engineers for joint "landing" of SkyWay technology on Indian realities, aspects of local certification of both track structure and rolling stock, because the Companies we had talks with are the leaders in relevant local industries.

After that, we have visited the state of Jharkhand, where, as you know from our news, in February we took part in the Investment Summit "Momentum Jharkhand". We continue talks with it on the construction of a test section and the possibility of applying SkyWay technology in a number of projects at this state. We have visited the Secretary of the state, presented to him our technology and the concept of a test track section. Our next visit was to the Governor of the state, with whom we also discussed the possibility of SkyWay on their territory. However, it was not about the test section. It was about much greater plans of the "Golden triangle" strategy, which the authorities of the state want to implement on Jharkhand territory. They also have a large project on the construction of a port. Though the state is situated not close to a great water, but they have a project to create a waterway closer to the state so as to build a full-scale port on the seashore.

We also went to one of the sites proposed by the state. It can be considered as a future SkyWay EcoTechnoPark in India. Anatoly Yunitskiy has personally inspected the condition of the land. We had a little walk on the territory.

After returning from Jharkhand, we had a pleasant surprise, because we were proposed to have talks at a very high level. Due to confidentiality, I cannot disclose the name of the person we talked to. However, after our presentation of the technology for Smart Cities and the presentation of agreement signing, four more states showed interest to developing both the projects with the use of SkyWay technology and the possibility to set up industrial centers or scientific laboratories on their territories. Therefore, we have aroused a great interest in the country. It is confirmed by the level of contacts we had and with whom we had talks on returning from Jharkhand.

Our next trip was to Indonesia, to the city of Jakarta so as to continue talks that we had started early in April at the exhibition RailwayExpo in Indonesia. As regards the next development strategy on India, together with our Swiss and Indian partners we are already working out a strategic roadmap for development in India that will include development of all contracts and directions we have acquired during this very useful trip.

We shall prepare a program to determine a detailed plan to certify the technology in India. We are considering on what partners will enter the consortium, because in different states it will be offered to different Companies. It may be Tata Group in one state, in another - some other engineering Companies. So, now we are working on the preparation of a strategic roadmap for the entire country.

Respectively, we are setting up a Company in India and starting to work at the local level. So far, we were working from abroad. However, to indicate our presence in India, to show we came there for long and our intentions to develop the technology are serious, we are starting the registration of the Company. We shall employ the stuff, the necessary minimum to proceed with the work. I think in the near future, in July your obedient servant will depart for a longer journey to the Asian region to continue work on our common project.