Dubai hailed for gains in setting up innovative smart city

The Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said Wednesday it welcomed the move by the Gulf Arab sheikhdom of Dubai to share its experience in implementing smart-city objectives.

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said in an e-mailed statement that "the lessons learned in Dubai's efforts to evolve into a smart sustainable city will be of great value to other cities, because they encourage local smart-city innovation."

As a special agency and affiliation of the United Nations, the ITU handles issues the global information and communication technologies.

Dubai was the world's first city to join ITU's Key Performance Indicators (KPI) pilot project in 2015, and then followed by cities of other countries, including China's Wuxi. The pilot project will help ITU refine the indicators with data and insights that each city gathered from their application.

Collaborating with private sector and government partners, Smart Dubai charged with facilitating Dubai's citywide smart transformation, to empower, deliver and promote an efficient, seamless, safe and impactful city experience for residents and visitors.

Residents of the emirate and visitors can pay parking tickets through applications on their smartphone and they can pass the border at international airports with a special chipcard instead of their passports.

"Dubai must be commended for its efforts to share its smart-city experience with the international community," said Chaesub Lee, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.

ITU currently has a membership of 193 countries and almost 800 private-sector entities and academic institutions, according to its website. Endit