Initiatives to make Iskandar a smart city

(From left) Ismail, Mohamed Khaled, Johor Tourism, Domestic Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong, Sheikh Manzoor and MIMOS president Ahmad Rizan Ibrahim (right) at the launch of the symposium. — Bernama

GELANG PATAH: Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) signed two memorandums of understading (MoUs) for initiatives in smart technology and urban observatory, setting the momentum for the economic region to become a smart city.

IRDA chief executive officer Datuk Ismail Ibrahim welcomed the MoUs and encouraged organisations that were keen to invest in Iskandar Malaysia to collaborate towards achieving the vision of becoming a strong and sustainable metropolis of international standings.

He said Iskandar Malaysia made further inroads in realising smart city plans consistent with the Government’s acknowledgement of the need for smart city developments that focused on strengthening infrastructure to support future growth and quality of life in line with the 11th Malaysia Plan.

“We will continue to ensure that the economic corridor’s development is carried out strategically to transform it into a smart city as guided by our Comprehensive Development Plan ii 2014-2015 (CDPii),” he said.

The exchange of MoUs was witnessed by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin during the launch of the Invest Iskandar Malaysia 2017 Symposium here on Tuesday.

The authority signed an MoU with MIMOS Sdn Bhd to collaborate in developing smart technology to be utilised in smart city solutions including a ‘smart community application’ to be installed in Kulai and Sedenak as well as to develop big data implementation.

Another MoU was signed with SAS Institute Sdn Bhd to design, develop and implement the Iskandar Malaysia Urban Observatory (IMUO), which would be a single window where information and data is collected, kept and analysed in a smart city environment.

The framework of IMUO was approved at IRDA’s Approvals and Implementation Committee on July 25 last year and the observatory would be implemented in phases involving various stakeholders from now until 2025.

SAS Institute Sdn Bhd operations executive director Sheikh Manzoor Ghani said the first round of reports on property and environment was expected to be completed and submitted by year-end.

“We have started collecting and analysing data gathered from various sources,” he said, noting that the analytic process would be continuous to create update to reports.

He added that the IMUO would enhance and improve development and spatial planning, provide better public policies that are benchmarked to international standard and better coordinate policies.