Hong Kong Releases Smart City Blueprint

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government recently released The Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong which maps out development plans for the next five years. The main policy objectives to pursue smart city development are to  make use of innovation and technology to address urban challenges, enhance the effectiveness of city management and to improve people’s quality of living; to enhance Hong Kong’s attractiveness to international businesses; and to inspire continuous city innovation and sustainable economic development.

The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer invited members of the public to give views on the recommendations made in the report of the study on the smart city blueprint, during the period from August 1 to September 30, 2017.

The blueprint focuses on six major areas:

  • Smart Mobility – creating an intelligent transport system and traffic management, promoting environmentally friendly solutions, and designing a smart airport;
  • Smart Living – increasing WiFi hotspots, digital payments, providing eID’s, and support for the elderly and disabled;
  • Smart Environment – working towards the Climate Action Plan 2030+, promoting green and intelligent buildings, bettering waste management and pollution monitoring;
  • Smart People – nurturing young talent and creating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship;
  • Smart Government – opening up public and private sector data, creating a smart city infrastructure, and supporting the adoption of technology by government departments to improve public services; and,
  • Smart Economy – promoting a sharing economy, strengthening Fintech and smart tourism, and developing new economic initiatives through the promotion of R&D.

The Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology chaired by the Chief Executive has started operation to steer development of I&T and smart city projects and a dedicated Smart City office will be set up in the Innovation and Technology Bureau to take charge of the overall coordination and monitoring of the projects.