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Smart City becomes a new platform for ASEAN-ROK cooperation
- Ground-breaking Ceremony for Busan Eco Delta Smart City -
① The first-ever case to integrate innovative technology from planning to development of a city
② Realization of a better lifestyle for the future by introducing innovative technologies and services in water management, robots, and energy
③ As the first side event of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, the Ground-breaking Ceremony provides a new platform for cooperation with ASEAN countries
□ A national pilot smart city, which will be an embodiment of integrated smart technologies, is being developed from zero-base in Busan to address urban problems and improve citizens’ quality of life.
ㅇThe Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) of the Republic of Korea (Minister: H.E. Kim Hyun-mee) and K-Water (CEO: Lee Hak-soo) held the Ground-breaking Ceremony for Busan Eco Delta Smart City, one of the national test-bed smart cities, in Gangseo district, Busan on November 24th.
ㅇThe Ground-breaking Ceremony was joined by President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea, as well as the Ministers of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Foreign Affairs, and Science and ICT. Around 700 people attended the event, including Land Infrastructure & Transport Committee members, constituency representatives of the National Assembly, Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City, public institutions, companies, experts and Busan citizens.
ㅇHeads of State and Ministers of ASEAN countries, including Thailand, Viet Nam, and Lao PDR, also participated in the Ground-breaking Ceremony, making it the first side event that marks the beginning of the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. ASEAN Heads of State showed great interest in the smart city, advancing the schedule to visit Busan to attend the Ground-breaking Ceremony.
1. The First Smart City to Integrate Innovative Technologies from the Initial Phase of Development
□ Smart city is a global policy trend which aims to address a myriad of urban problems in the areas of transport, environment, safety, and disaster management which emerged with rapid urbanization and subsequent concentration of population and resources in urban areas. Smart cities provide solutions to urban issues by utilizing technologies of the 4th industrial revolution such as big data, the Internet of Things (IoT), AI, and robots.
ㅇThe Korean government is promoting smart cities as a key national agenda to not only address urban problems and improve people’s quality of life, but also create a driving force of innovation for the future.
□ In particular, national pilot smart cities are taking a new departure from the existing approach, integrating smart infrastructure and innovative technologies such as networks and IoT sensors from the very beginning of city development – the urban planning phase - to provide advanced services. The integration of the latest R&D outcomes and cutting-edge technologies in the areas of energy, transport, safety, and environment would create great synergy.
ㅇ In January 2018, MOLIT designated Busan Eco Delta City(EDC) and the Sejong 5-1 Life Zone as the national test-bed smart cities. After unveiling the framework which includes the vision and strategies of the national pilot cities, as well as the directions on space planning and smart service establishment in February 2019, the Ministry has been making great efforts to realize the framework by gathering opinions from citizens and private sector companies.
2. Innovative Services in Busan Eco Delta Smart City
□ Busan Eco Delta Smart City is located on the waterfront of the Nakdong River Delta (Semulmeori) in Gangseo district area of Busan. The objective of EDC is “Creating a global innovative growth city for the future where people, nature, and technology meet”.
ㅇ On 2.8㎢ land site similar to the size of Yeouido, key facilities which would lead Korea’s growth in the era of the 4th industrial revolution such as 5 innovative industry clusters on healthcare, hydrothermal energy, etc., green spaces and waterfronts which can be accessed within 5 minutes from anywhere in the city, canals in urban centers, commercial areas, smart shopping centers, and R&D complexes will be established.
ㅇ The City will be equipped with IoT sensors linked to AI platforms that would collect and analyze data, which will be complemented by analysis methods powered by VR technologies such as digital twins and augmented reality. Such smart infrastructure would support promoting 10 objectives to address urban problems and improve quality of life.
*(10 objectives for innovative services) ① Innovation for lifestyle based on robotics, ② Learn, Work, and Play (LWP), ③ Intelligent city administration and management, ④Smart water, ⑤Zero energy, ⑥Smart education and living, ⑦Smart health, ⑧ Smart mobility, ⑨ Smart safety, ⑩ Smart park
□ Notable aspects of Busan EDC are innovative services in water management and robotics.
ㅇ In Busan EDC, located on the beautiful waterfront of Nakdong River which is also a world-renowned sanctuary of migratory birds, the method of LID (Low Impact Development) will be adopted to minimize negative impact on environment and a smart water quality improvement system in the City will mitigate pollutions. Busan EDC will also be an eco-friendly smart waterfront with intelligent water circulation system equipped with advanced water management technologies.
ㅇ The next-generation decentralized water supply system, which uses building-type water treatment facilities in city centers to treat locally collected rainwater and directly supplies the treated water to the citizens, will allow people to have access to clean drinking water without water purifiers. This technology could also be exported to other countries suffering from water security issues and help them secure clean drinking water as well.
ㅇ Busan EDC will be the first to offer diverse robot services at the city level. In the public sector, robots could be used for facility inspections, parking enforcement, measuring air quality, and patrols. In the private sector, diverse areas will be explored for application of robot services, including autonomous delivery and assisting the elderly citizens. To reach this goal, city-level robot infrastructure which includes robot charging stations, location markers, and control systems will be established. Furthermore, supporting systems for robot-related industries will be put in place to nurture Busan EDC to become a global hub of the robot industry.
3. Smart City as a new platform for ASEAN-ROK cooperation
□ The groundbreaking ceremony which is joined by the Prime Ministers of three countries -Viet Nam, Thailand, Laos- as well as a number of ministerial level officials responsible for smart city projects in ASEAN nations such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia is expected to provide a momentum in promoting cooperation between Korea and ASEAN countries. In particular, the participation of major ordering entities including DEPA of Thailand and Surbana Jurong, the leading infrastructure consultancy firm in Asia, highlighted a high level of interest in Korea’s smart city projects.
□ ASEAN, a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia, is the 5th largest economy in the world with the combined GDP of USD 2.7 trillion in 2017, following the US, EU, China and Japan. The region continues to post economic growth rates of around 5% every year. While it is the second largest trading partner of Korea with the bilateral trade volume reaching USD 160 billion in 2018, the region also received the highest number of Korean tourists last year, indicating the enormous market potential of the region.
ㅇ As urbanization rates in ASEAN countries dramatically increased from 18% (40 million) in the 1960s to 48% (310 million) in 2017, demand for urban infrastructure also saw a rapid rise. Against this backdrop, ASEAN member countries gathered in Singapore in November last year and launched the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) with the goal of transforming 26 ASEAN cities into smart cities, expressing their strong commitment.
* The ASEAN region requires around USD 7 trillion of new investment by 2035 for urban infrastructure including transport, water sewage, energy, and housing. (UNEP, 2018)
□ In this regard, Korea is actively seeking and promoting cooperative and joint projects on smart cities with ASEAN member countries. Korea already signed MOUs at the ministerial level respectively with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, and having discussions with other ASEAN nations including Brunei and Cambodia on signing the MOU.
ㅇ Moreover, Korea is currently conducting more than 20 smart city cooperation projects in ASEAN countries, including the establishment of the Basic Plan on Kota Kinabalu Smart City project in Malaysia, Hung Yen Province Industrial Park and Hanoi Social Housing projects in Viet Nam, Smart Industrial Complex in Myanmar, and the introduction of Smart Transport System in Thailand.
ㅇ In particular, the Kota Kinabalu project in Malaysia, which is conducted based on the MOU signed in the presence of Korea and Malaysia’s heads of state in March last year, is the first cooperation project between Korea and ASEAN after the launch of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network. At the ASEAN-ROK Ministerial Meeting on Smart City which will be held on the 25th, an MOU between the Sabah State Government of Malaysia and Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) – the implementing entity of the basic plan establishment - will be signed, and based on the result of the basic plan a master plan will be created for the project, which would provide a momentum for Korean companies in entering the ASEAN market.
ㅇ After the Ground-breaking Ceremony, the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit will take place for 2 days from November 25th at Bexco, Busan. Side events including ASEAN-ROK Ministerial Meeting on Smart City (11/25) and ASEAN-ROK Smart City Fair (11/25~27) and International Conference on Smart City (11/25) will be held to support further collaboration on smart cities between Korea and ASEAN. The events will serve as a platform to share Korea’s experience on Busan EDC development with ASEAN countries and provide more opportunities for Korean companies with advanced smart city solutions to participate in overseas smart city cooperation projects.
Plan after the Ground-breaking Ceremony and its meaning
□ After the Ground-breaking Ceremony, the Busan Eco-delta Smart City project will enter the construction phase. The plan is to build basic infrastructure and open its first smart village to residents to move in from the late 2021.
ㅇ During the first half of next year, the process for forming the project SPC will get underway. By including private-sector companies, the SPC will be able to tap into the creativity and efficiency of the private sector. Moreover, its structure involving municipalities, conglomerates and the SMEs will set an example for public-private partnerships for future smart city projects in Korea.
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