UAE are investing heavily in ICT as they seek to diversify their economies, build up a knowledge economy and reduce their reliance on oil and gas. In Dubai, the Dubai Smart City initiative aims to transform the emirate into a leading global smart city over the next few years. The strategy includes over 100 initiatives and a plan to transform 1000 government services into smart services. According to Cisco, Dubai’s public and private sector IT market is valued at Dh17.9bn ($4.87bn) over the next five years, including a public sector opportunity of Dh4.3bn ($1.17bn).
The initiative aims to encourage collaboration between the public and private sectors to achieve targets in six key pillars: smart life, smart transportation, smart society, smart economy, smart governance and smart environment. These areas will be brought together on a single connected, integrated and collaborative smart city platform, with input from the government agencies, businesses and Dubai’s citizens.
UAE’s National Innovation Strategy
At the core of the smart city concept is development of innovative capabilities, and the government has implemented a number of strategies to promote innovation. The UAE’s National Innovation Strategy requires all government agencies to cut spending by 1% and dedicate the savings to research and innovation. The strategy also includes campaigns such as an innovation week and innovation prizes to raise awareness and foster entrepreneurial ideas.
A new Dh2 billion fund was recently announced to provide financing for startups and to support them in transforming ideas into projects. The Ministry of Finance will guarantee commercial loans to finance projects, and draw in support from commercial banks and investment funds.
“This fund is considered one of the most important financing tools in the region,” said Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs. “It is expected to play a significant role in driving growth and economic development within the UAE, and in strengthening the country’s position on both a regional and global level.”
Dubai Open Data Law
Introduced in October last year, the Dubai Open Data Law sets out the terms for increased sharing of non-confidential information between government agencies and the public. The new law will make the data accessible to researchers, investors and service developers via an integrated platform, and create opportunities for collaboration between the public and private sectors.
The legislation is a key pivot in the Dubai Smart City initiative, and is expected to create opportunities for greater innovation and entrepreneurship, attract investors to build up Dubai’s digital economy, and reduce costs by streamlining service delivery.
“The new law will unify Dubai’s data and remove the last legal obstacles for those interested in investing in the digital economy,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai’s crown prince and Head of the Dubai Smart City project. “It will help authorities to prepare policies, implement plans and initiatives efficiently and effectively. Most importantly, the data law will also enable the emirate to achieve its vision of making Dubai a city that can manage data according to a clear and specific methodology consistent with international best practices.”
Traffic Management System
According to Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the number of vehicles in Dubai doubled from 740,000 at the end of 2006 to 1.4 million at the end of 2014. The average annual increase of 8.2% is one of the highest in the world, and the RTA is turning to smart mobility solutions to address the increased demand on its transport infrastructure.
The RTA has embarked on a programme to integrate its traffic and transportation systems through a single, unified traffic control centre. All 408 traffic signals in Dubai have been connected wirelessly, allowing the control centre to optimize traffic light sequences based on traffic volume at a particular junction.
“The traffic control system uses a series of detectors buried in the road surface to measure the traffic flow and a central computer then uses this data to vary the signal timings in real-time to improve the progression of traffic through the network and reduce congestion,” said Maitha Bin Udai, CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency at RTA.
“Users can find out about traffic congestion, road works and accidents using their mobile connection. They can view real-time traffic information and adjust travel plans. This is an example of an advanced travel information system that complements traffic management,” added Bin Maitha.
Smart Energy Grids
Dubai’s power consumption has been growing at an annual rate of 5.3%, and the growing economy will continue to drive demand for power and water. The Dubai Energy and Water Authority (DEWA) plans to launch a smart grid that enables residents to install photovoltaic panels on their rooftops, collect solar energy and sell power back into the grid.
250,000 smart meters will be installed in residential, industrial and commercial properties by 2018 as part of Dubai’s smart city initiative. Through mobile apps, residents will be able to monitor electricity and water consumption, tailor utility usage to their needs and reduce wastage. All power consumption data will be fed back to a central control system, which will be able to manage sudden surges in demand in real-time, channelling extra resources to where they are needed.
Smart Government Initiatives
Building on a strong e-government foundation, the Dubai Smart Government department is continuing its efforts to digitalise its services, creating greater efficiency and better customer-centric service delivery. Over 95% of Dubai’s most important government services have been made available on mobile devices. Through a single identification number, citizens will be able to access all government services and a personal account page with updates on transactions, pending procedures and outstanding payments. Transactions via the mPay platform have doubled in 2015 to reach Dh230.68m ($62.8m), according to Dubai Smart Government.
The department has also recently announced the launch of CloudOne, a smart infrastructure cloud service for government agencies in Dubai. The service provides a fully automated environment for the approval and provision of on-demand IT resources, saving time and reducing the cost of IT management in government agencies.
“The Dubai Smart Government Strategy 2014-2017 focuses on smart connected services, lean administration, an open government and an enabling environment with our new vision to be a world class smart government for the 21st century. Together with our partners in all Dubai Government entities and the private sector, we are connecting systems, devices, services and customers in one connected, collaborative government,” said Ahmed Bin Humaidan, Director General of Dubai Smart Government.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Tan Wee Kwang
Quelle/Source: eGov Innovation, 20.01.2016
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