The Civil Engineering Contractor May 2018 | Page 35

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Who drives smart-
city development?
At present, smart city and smart
community developments are being
driven by developers and through
public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Governments recognise the need
for smart-city development and are
building it into development policies.
However, they face a number of
challenges:
• They must upgrade existing legacy
systems to function in a smart-city
environment.
•
Smart-city infrastructure is costly
to implement.
• Service delivery and revenue
collection systems must be
developed.
• Services need to be rolled out
tactically and in a phased manner
to secure a return on investment
and ongoing revenues to ensure
the expansion and sustainability of
services.
In terms of minimising cost, new
greenfield developments remain
optimal, with fibre being put into the
“By integrating electricity,
water, sewage, and waste
collection on a single hosted
platform, city dwellers can
gain a smart view of service
use and rates and taxes.”
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