When one thinks of the great Smart Cities of Southeast Asia, the country of Myanmar doesn’t usually hit anyone’s radar.
But in the historic capital of Mandalay, through the aid of the World Bank, city officials hope that their beloved home can indeed become a Smart City over the next couple of decades.
The Sociable reports:
“The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the French Agency for Development (AFD) are aiding the city with technical and financial support through the Mandalay Urban Services Improvement Project.
The project plans to develop Mandalay’s water supply system, wastewater treatment, and solid waste management. The city aims to become a zero-waste, zero emissions, and resource-efficient society.
Mandalay is using Internet of Things (IoT) sensors throughout the city to track water issues. The city also uses drones to help map the city for planning drainage systems. Automated control centers are also being utilized to plan and avoid traffic congestion.”
The Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC), who is in charge of this project, realizes many obstacles to overcome. Still, they are determined to rise to the challenge and put Myanmar on the map for positive reasons.
They visited Singapore and, with permission, observed the entire system there and were very inspired and encouraged to implement similar systems over the coming years, the Irrawaddy reports.
If Mandalay achieves its goal of becoming Myanmar’s first smart city, many other cities in Southeast Asia will be inspired to aim high and look to the future themselves.
PHOTO CREDIT: Mandalay City Hall and MCDC Headquarter by Kantabon – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63104915
Leave a Reply