Singapore shines at IDC 2016 Smart City Awards

• Singapore brings home three awards
• Thailand and the Philippines win one each

SINGAPORE scored gold in IDC Asia/Pacific’s 2016 Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (Scapa). The island-state came up as the biggest winner in South-East Asia with three awards.
 
The winning Singaporean projects were the Smart Yuhua Residential Estate under the Smart Buildings category; the Initiative to Develop Singapore as a Global Hydrohub in the Smart Water category; and The Next Generation National Trade Platform under the Economic Development Category.
 
The other two South-East Asian nations to win an award were Thailand with its Saensuk Smart City - Smart Living project under the Social Services category; and the Philippines for its Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) under the Public Safety category.
 
READ ALSO: Cyberjaya all set to be SEA’s first LoRa-powered smart city 
 

 
“The smart city momentum is growing extensively in the Asia Pacific region as many nations see it as an organic, bottom-up and middle-out innovation growth that will spearhead the next cycle of e-government evolutions,” said IDC’s head of Asia Pacific government and education, Gerald Wang (pic).
 
“While at least 90% of all Asia Pacific local governments or smart cities’ growth [make use of] funds that are provided by central or federal functions, many of them are notably given the autonomy to create their own unique identity in city governance, strategic operations, and provisioning of effective e-services,” he added.
 
Wang said there is a growing prevalence of citizen-directed initiatives and local industries, which ultimately contribute to domestic social and economic sustainability.
 
This year’s submissions and winners highlighted the impact of climate change and slowing global trade, IDC Asia/ Pacific said.
 
This led to a stronger push for environmental sustainability and operational efficiency to bring about better living standards and future continuity of the various cities.
 
IDC Government Insights went through a six-phased benchmarking exercise to determine the Top Smart City Projects for 2016.
 
These included identifying and cataloguing the key smart city projects by IDC analysts across the region, excluding Japan (25%), online voting to determine public opinion (50%), and the assessment of an International Advisory Council (25%).
 
Scapa recognises the most outstanding smart city projects in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan in 14 functional e-services. Click here for an interactive chart of all the winners.
 
Related Stories:
 
Singapore emerges top sustainable city in South-East Asia
 
Most people believe technology can lead to better living: Microsoft survey
 
APAC cities to kickstart pervasice IoT adoption in 2015: IDC
 
 
For more technology news and the latest updates, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Like us on Facebook.