Siemens signs MoU with Megapolis Ministry on Smart City solutions

Siemens, a renowned global leader in the area of Smart Cities, strengthened its partnership with Sri Lanka by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development to offer expertise and best practices from its globally-proven, state-of-the-art, Sustainable, Smart City solutions portfolio, a media statement said.

The major objective of the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development is to bring systematic changes and development processes into the urban community in Sri Lanka, which will ensure inhabitants of urban areas become part of socio-economic development while maintaining a high quality of life, Siemens said in a BSE filing.

According to the statement, this MoU will pave the way for making Sri Lanka a commercial, naval and aviation hub of Asia, Money Control reports.

In this context, the ministry envisages transforming the entire Western Province into a megapolis to usher in comprehensive development within the next five years.

The scope of work under the ministry’s purview would primarily include macro level planning of the Western Megapolis region based on bio-geophysical and socio-economic aspects.

The Western Region Megapolis Development will be the epicenter of a long-standing, firmly-established and sustainable future urban process of Sri Lanka.

In furtherance to designing smart urban settlements in strategic locations of the country, it will also seek to discover solutions to resolve distinct issues related to urbanisation such as garbage, slums, energy, traffic, environment and livelihoods.

“We are... happy to partner with Siemens whose expertise and technologies will contribute to the Western Province’s intensive efforts to eliminate congestion pressure on urban infrastructure, services and environment with a focus on reducing the per unit capital cost of infrastructure,” Lakshman Jayasekara, Project Director/Team Leader, Western Region Megapolis Planning Project, said in statement.

Sunil Mathur, MD and CEO, Siemens India, said, “With its global expertise, Siemens has the portfolio, the know-how, and the expertise to help cities become more livable, more competitive and more sustainable. This will enable the national economy to leverage the benefits of economies of agglomeration brought about by urbanisation.”

Siemens has involved itself in the future of Sri Lanka by focusing strongly on the region-specific needs of the industry with specific systems and solutions. It has implemented numerous pioneering projects in Sri Lanka together with key stakeholders such as the government, local industry and business partners in order to deliver the benefits of the latest technologies to the citizens.

The Megapolis Ministry plans to develop new cities in Bandaragama, Kadawatha, Kottawa and Kerawalapitiya.