The Gulf region is charging ahead with smart city plans, fuelled by ambitions to become a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025.
As the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) looks to diversify its economies and forge a sustainable future, regional governments are enacting plans for smart mobility, smart infrastructure and smart buildings.
Investment in Middle Eastern smart city infrastructure is rising – one report from IDC says annual Middle East investments in smart city technologies will reach $2.3bn by the end of 2021.
The smart city approach has long been championed by Gulf nations as a means of rapidly addressing the region’s challenges of population growth and increased consumption, while unlocking economic and sustainability benefits. Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City – launched in 2008 as the world’s first sustainable smart district – has paved the way for a slew of smart city projects across the GCC.
+INFO: Computer Weekly
