Yet again, Qatar is making another ambitious dream come true by aiming to implement the smart city concept in the country. As a precursor to this, Prime Minister and Interior Minister, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani along with the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, inaugurated the Smart City Expo Doha on Wednesday. The first edition of the Smart City Expo aims at introducing innovative technology that will contribute to improving the lives of citizens, residents and visitors through achieving social inclusion, sustainability and empowerment.
President Kagame expressed his happiness over his country’s partnership with Qatar in the field of smart cities, saying that both countries are among the top 10 globally in the future vision and readiness to embrace change and its requirements.
In the smart city concept, a city uses information and communication technologies (ICT) to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public and improve both the quality of government services and the welfare of citizens.
The concept aspires to optimise city functions and drive economic growth while improving quality of life for its citizens using smart technology and data analysis. More than how much technology a city has at its disposal, what it chooses to do with technology is what matters.
For implementing the idea, a city should have a technology-based infrastructure, environmental initiatives, a top level public transportation system, a confident sense of urban planning and residents with a readiness to utilise its resources.
Qatar enjoys all these prerequisites as the country has already embraced and implemented the most modern technological advancement in the field of ICT.
The country can boast of one of the best infrastructure set up with its well connected roads and the newest metro lines. Its transportation system provides comfortable travel options linking every nook and corner of the country. The tech-savvy citizens and residents are always open to new technological developments by embracing any innovation that come in handy for them.
One of the world’s first 5G network offered by both telecom operators of the country makes it more sensible and practical to implement the idea of a fully smart city. With the 5G network, Internet of Things has become almost a reality here, which will augment the smart city implementation.
Sustainability is another major facet of smart cities. Qatar has been very keen on sustainable development of the country and the smart city idea will add to the efforts toward achieving sustainability target. Smart technology will help cities sustain growth and improve efficiency for people’s welfare and government in the years to come.
One may not wonder if we see autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars plying through Doha roads in the near future, taking the smart city concept to its next level.
