Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 64 | Page 68

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Smart Cities are developed to address sustainability and safety issues , which represent some of the most fundamental issues faced by the continent today .
“ The new administrative capital city in Egypt represents a prime example for the establishment of the Smart City model , along with the multiple other Smart City initiatives underway in the country . Apart from Egypt , we see multiple Smart City initiatives in South Africa , Nigeria , Rwanda and Kenya , to name a few ,” he said .
Egypt is building a new administrative capital as a megacity to host more than seven million inhabitants .
As the world continues to focus on preserving natural resources , sustainability becomes a priority .
“ Key sustainability use cases such as smart water , smart grids and the digitalisation of key sectors such as mining and oil and gas will become key priorities over the next couple of years as governments in Africa strengthen their commitment to environmental sustainability ,” said El-Banna .
Smart Cities emerging as part of Digital Transformation
With most countries in Africa prioritising Digital Transformation , developing Smart Cities is one of the core focus areas in their plans . Already , there are a few national and private initiatives for Smart Cities in Africa at multiple scales and levels and this is expected to grow over the next couple of years .
“ The city will host a major governmental district where all the governmental entities will operate from the city in the future . Situated in the far eastern part of Cairo , the city is built according to the latest modern standards of Smart Cities with state-of-the-art use cases providing a unique living experience to the citizens of the city . It also includes a new monorail line that links the city to the city centre in Cairo ,” said El-Banna .
Egypt is also establishing a handful of other Smart Cities across the country . New Alamin is a major expansion on the north-western coast of Egypt on the shore of the Mediterranean . The city will host a couple of million inhabitants in the future with full governmental , educational , healthcare and transportation infrastructure . Other initiatives include Galala city , new Mansoura and major renovation in other cities in upper Egypt .
Proper transportation across the country is also critical to Smart City success .
68 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com