UK vows to help Cebu’s ‘Smart City’ undertaking

CEBU, Philippines — The British government has expressed interest to participate in Cebu’s bid of becoming a smart city.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce said his government will use its Prosperity Fund project to provide aid on making Cebu a smarter city.

“We are working on the detail of the project,” said Pruce reiterating British government’s open doors in providing assistance and forging collaborative programs for development with the Philippine government, including Cebu City.

Last year, the Cebu City government announced that the City is included in the list of pilot areas in the Smart Cities Network set up by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

About 26 cities in the ASEAN region were picked as pilot areas as of April last year.

A smart city is an urban area that uses different types of electronic Internet of things sensors to collect data and then use these data to manage assets and resources efficiently.

In 2011, technology solutions provider IBM Philippines made a proposal to Cebu City government on the company’s willingness to help Cebu become a smarter city.

Eight years after, Cebu still has to yet to implement this plan.

IBM hoped to help Cebu becoming a world-class metropolis boosting its attractiveness to both local and foreign investors.

Smarter city initiatives treat the city as an ecosystem composed of multiple subsystems to manage transportation, healthcare, public safety, government services, energy, commerce, communications, and water resources.

Under the leadership of outgoing Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, City Administrator Paul Nigel Villarete said that aside from UK Future Cities programme, the City is also talking with the French Mobilize Your City (MYC) Programme for possible aid in implementing a smarter Cebu City.