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Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) calls on the global market to join their initiative ‘Water as Leverage for Resilient Cities Asia’ and to propose viable solutions for water problems in Chennai (India), Khulna (Bangladesh) and Semarang (Indonesia).

RVO challenges civil engineers, landscape architects, urban planners, non-governmental agencies, scientists and other key players, to form internationally operating multidisciplinary teams to start a pilot in one of the three cities.

The government agency has announced the rules for teams to enter the challenge and launched its first call on 26 April. Interested parties have till 18 June to submit their proposals.

dws-rvo-water-as-leverage-example-manhattan-350px   Example of a succesful design for the Rebuild by Design challenge in New York: a new waterfront for Manhattan.

Solving complex urban issues
It has proven to be extremely complex for cities to take measures to prevent damage caused by extreme weather events or to minimise their effects. Heavy rainfall, floods and droughts cause increasingly more economic and social damage.

Challenges in cities as New York and San Francisco have proven that by involving multidisciplinary teams, it is possible to mobilise citizens, and realise innovative and integral urban water projects that are developed and supported locally.

Such integral urban water projects can solve other issues as well, such as a better city planning, urban renovation, improvement of social coherence, protection of cultural heritage, recreation, air quality.

A water project that includes multiple infrastructural and social targets, can be a leverage for a impactful and catalytic change in tackling complex issues.

dws-rvo-water-as-leverage-exemaple-slum-bath-350px Certain parts of Asian cities need different designs to solve local water issues.

Call for transformative pilots
The Dutch government launched the Water as Leverage project to start a challenge for pilots in three selected Asian cities.

 The first phase started with the call for urban and water experts to form teams and come up with innovative solutions. The ideas will be judged on their bankability, innovation and multi functionality.

 Two financial institutes are involved in the project - Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) – to assist the teams on the financial aspects of their proposals.

 Each teams can make 3 to 5 different conceptual designs.

Awarded team get a predefined contract price of 200.000 euro to continue with phase 2.

Final proposals
Entering phase 2, the teams will be asked to transform their designs into final proposals for Urban Water Project(s) with a focus on physical infrastructure.

 RVO will organise local workshops in each city to bring together leaders of local communities, local experts and local government representatives.

The final proposals are expected to be ready by April 2019.

See all official documents on the website of Water as Leverage for resilient cities Asia.

(Top photo: Istock Photo)

Read also on this website
Water as Leverage: Call for innovative water solutions in three big Asian cities, 4 April 2018
World Water Forum 8: A call on the world to fully value water, not just prizing, 21 March 2018
Winners of Resilient by Design allocated to project sites around San Francisco Bay, USA, 16 January 2018
Expertise: Resilient cities

More information
Water as Leverage programme
c/o Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)
The Hague, the Netherlands
+31 70 379 80 00
www.english.rvo.nl

Dutch special water envoy Henk Ovink invites city planners, water experts, landscape architects and NGO´s to join in and form team. Ovink explains the programme conditions and scheme as presented at a special meeting by RVO in The Hague, on 26 April.