Selangor on track to become premier Smart State

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 -- Selangor is on track to become a premier Smart State in ASEAN by 2025 after finalising three joint undertakings in smart city development with foreign companies at the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) in Barcelona. 

In a statement today, it said the state’s investment arm, Menteri Besar Selangor Inc (MBI), has inked the agreements through its subsidiaries, namely SMARTSEL Sdn Bhd, KDEB Waste Management Sdn Bhd (KDEB) and Smart Selangor Delivery Unit (SSDU).

According to the statement, SMARTSEL has entered into a partnership with Global Reach Technology UK and Dune Global Sdn Bhd to maximise the latest in Wi-Fi and Hotspot technology.

Meanwhile, KDEB is collaborating with Turkey-based software company, EVREKA, to provide a holistic solution for waste management and city cleaning operations with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning.

SSDU has teamed up with Urbaser Spain and Mancuso Energy Sdn Bhd on smart waste management solutions for the state.

MBI chief executive officer Raja Shahreen Raja Othman said the challenge was to ensure that the people would benefit from the collaborations and similar efforts that they may have in the future.

“The joint undertakings run parallel to the country's newly launched ‘Shared Prosperity Vision 2030’, a 10-year goal to restructure Malaysia’s low-skill labour-intensive economy into a knowledge-based economy,” he said, adding that the state already had a head start with the launch of the Smart Selangor initiative four years ago.

Held annually, the SCEWC is the world’s biggest gathering of stakeholders in the field of smart city management, which aims to empower cities and collectivise urban innovation across the globe through the promotion of social innovation, establishing partnerships and identifying business opportunities.

-- BERNAMA