KUCHING: Sarawak has launched the Kuching Smart City Masterplan (2021-2025) to boost the city's effective public service delivery, accelerate economic growth and improve the welfare of its citizens.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said inline with the state's focus on digital economy, it is necessary to transform cities in Sarawak into smart cities.
He said they will start with Kuching before extending it to Darul Hana in Petra Jaya, Padawan and Samarahan areas.
"The master plan aims to get everyone connected, especially the citizens and government, through certain application platforms, where they can share information, raise issues or complaints and seek solutions," he said.
"It (smart city) is connecting the people and government, promoting economic growth while also improving quality of life for citizens by using smart technologies and data analysis," he said at the launch of the Kuching Smart City Masterplan at Wisma Bapa today.
He said that once the ART (Autonomous Rapid Transit) project is completed, it will be incorporated into the application platforms, as mobility is equally important, especially to reduce road congestion.
"We want to keep our cities clean and safe as well as having a sustainable environment, which comes with effective service delivery. With such initiatives, I believe we can attract more investments and trigger economic growth. Hence, smart cities are the future," he added.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) General Manager Zaidi Razak, the masterplan has five focus areas, namely economic growth, smart living, clean environment, digital government and digital infrastructure.
He said 38 initiatives will be implemented from 2021 until 2025, in order to transform Kuching into a smart city.
"The masterplan maps out the development of a core smart city digital infrastructure platform and essential applications for Kuching Smart City, which allow the public, private and citizens to share information as well as to deliver their services and products," he said.
"One of the key outcomes the masterplan seeks to achieve is that our city planners will be able to measure city competitiveness from accurate unified data. This has the propensity to attract twin cities partnership and generates investment and talent inflow and retention," he said.
"It (smart city) will lead to job creation, vibrant economy, environment-friendly city, public services at the fingertips and healthy living. With the economic and social needs of the citizens met, the well-being index for cities in Sarawak are expected to improve in the years to come," he added.