Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 32 | Page 60

FEATURE : SMART CITIES

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Advantages of being a smart city

Yanbu Industrial City is starting to enjoy many benefits . The road maintenance cost has been reduced by 20 %; the garbage clearing efficiency has been improved by 50 %; the overall cost of the public lighting system has been reduced by 30 %; and the utilisation of public parking spaces increased by 30 %.

RCY will continue to deepen its collaboration with Huawei and leverage new technologies to enable citizens to enjoy better public services .

Dr Alaa Nassif said : “ The Smart City project has proven that our Royal Commission is visionary . We are on the right track and all will benefit from the Smart City project , including the government , enterprises and individuals .

Smart energy efficiency monitoring :

RCY has decided to reduce power consumption in office areas and set a good example to encourage citizens to enhance their awareness of power conservation .

The energy consumption sensors in office buildings can collect power consumption data on each area in real time . Then , diverse management approaches based on power consumption data comparison can be taken to improve government staff ’ s awareness of energy savings and promote reasonable power consumption .

The sensors can also remotely control the power supply . During non-working hours , the sensors can be remotely controlled to shut down the air conditioners and lighting devices for more energy savings .

Crowd density analysis :

Monitoring Wi-Fi signals can accurately report the distribution and flows of people , allowing city authorities to closely follow situations and take necessary measures in a timely manner in the case of any emergencies .

Smart manhole cover :

As an industrial city experiencing rapid growth , Yanbu has a large number of pipes , valves and connectors installed underground .

The manhole covers for accessing these facilities have become a focus for security measures to protect the underground facilities from becoming targets for attacks .

The Smart Manhole Cover Solution provides remote control over manhole covers . The covers can be opened only when maintenance is required , preventing unauthorised access .

Different types of sensors such as hazardous gas detection and water permeation detection sensors can be installed on the covers for different types of manholes , monitoring overflow accidents in real time and ensuring the safety of personnel inside the manholes .

“ Smart city construction not only greatly improves Yanbu ’ s public service level , but also enhances its capability of attracting high value-added investments .

“ With deeper development of the smart city project more and more young people choose to work and start a new life in Yanbu .

“ Both the employment rate and the population are increasing in a healthy and orderly manner . The co-operation and achievements of the RCY and Huawei for Smart Yanbu Industrial City also establishes a good model for other cities .

“ Huawei leads a robust ecosystem . Through flexible application of new ICT innovations , we can now sense , analyse and integrate more city operations , enrich key information required by the management system , and make smarter , faster responses to various requirements , such as city governance , public services and business activities .

“ I believe that such a data-driven city development path can inject new energy towards improving people ’ s lives , optimising city operations and management and enhancing business with other cities around the world .

“ It will definitely create a better city life for human beings .” •

60 INTELLIGENTCIO www . intelligentcio . com