The Government of Hong Kong published the “Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong” in December 2017. In recent times, we have been invited to various panels and events, discussing Hong Kong’s smart city agenda. Hong Kong is seen lagging other Asian countries like Singapore and Japan, in terms of digital development, and it is judged to be playing a catch-up game. Many people comment that Hong Kong is stuck playing the game and factors like lack of innovation are holding Hong Kong back. However, commitment is gradually shown with its unrelenting efforts of improvement.
What is inside the “Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong”?
The blueprint outlines the Government’s vision and mission. By building Hong Kong a smart city, local economy can be strengthened and the quality of life will possibly be improved. It has constructed development plans for the coming five years over six major areas, namely: “Smart Mobility”, “Smart Living”, “Smart Environment”, “Smart People”, “Smart Government” and “Smart Economy”.
In the Hong Kong Smart City Summit, which held in late June 2018, experts talked about the basic requirements for a city to be qualified as “smart”. Using big data in decision making process definitely falls into one of the paramount requirements. Infrastructure play a vital role in order to gather the data.
Ongoing digital and data-related projects
The government has been working on different projects as to accomplish the mission stated in the blueprint. In terms of “Smart Living”, a digital faster payment system is developed to support e-payments anytime and anywhere by only the use of mobile phone numbers or email addresses. Also, fifth generation (5G) mobile networks, which can offer higher speed and capacity, are expected to be launched in all services and applications in 2020. These projects are expected to bring convenience to the citizens. For “Smart Mobility”, in order to provide real-time traffic information, traffic detectors are installed in all strategic roads, expected to be completed by 2020. Moreover, in certain areas like West Kowloon Cultural District, autonomous vehicles will be on trials. Bicycle-friendly new towns and new development areas will also be introduced progressively.
Data is an important asset for a city to become smarter. It can make valuable contribution to the smart city development planning. At Moveco, we aim to be part of Hong Kong’s progress in the smart mobility front. We are establishing a mobility ecosystem that rewards you for your data shared. This data can then be used to help with areas such as city planning and traffic flow. Traffic data in combination with road-signaling technology can help alleviate acute traffic problems by providing tactical responses eg. adaptive traffic lights or varying speed limits in certain areas.
At Moveco, we look to continue to be part of the vital conversation of Hong Kong’s journey to being a smart city and more importantly look forward to contributing to the growth.
