UK companies say smart cities to lure more visitors to PHL

One approach for the Philippines to reach its goal of 10 million tourist arrivals by 2016 is by 

taking advantage of its potential to develop smart cities that involve massive urban developments across the country.

 

A smart city status is achieved by creating a sustainable environment by integrating information and communication technology into planning, design, operations, and management of urban areas.

 

Cited as some of the world's smart cities are Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, London in the UK, and Hong Kong in China.

 

Filipino businesses and British companies on Thursday met during a business mission in Makati City to explore possibilities toward building smart cities in the country.

 

The biggest challenge for the Philippines is people mobility, said Wadih Toni Barbara, chief executive officer of London-based PTAH Architectural Design. This, he noted, requires public-private partnership in building an efficient mode of transportation.

 

The Philippines has a lot of potential for infrastructure development that should be given thorough planning and building.

 

“One of the biggest challenges for the Philippines is infrastructure. For instance, how can you move those 10 million foreign tourists with ease and comfort into many tourist destinations,” Barbara told reporters in an interview at the Mandarin Hotel.

 

The business mission, hosted by the United Kingdom Trade and Investments office in the Philippines, seeks to increase trade between British and Philippine companies.

 

“This is the right time and place for our UK trade mission to be here in Manila,” said British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie, noting that smart cities promote a more sustainable and higher quality of urban life.

 

An information, communication, and technology infrastructure must be integral to urban planning, said Dave Savage, director and senior vice president for Asia Pacific of Hong Kong-based Mediatech Design Group.

 

Hotels, shopping malls, and tourist destinations need not employ heavily armed security people with K- 9 dogs, Savage noted. “There is a psychological impact when you see these heavily armed men in uniform with bomb sniffing dogs… It tells a lot about the safety of the place,” he said in a separate interview.

 

Instead, the Philippine should use more sophisticated surveillance cameras with face-tracking device that won't scare people, he added. 

 

Design manager Dorian Patrick of Manila-based RED Asia noted the availability of highly competent engineers and skilled workforce makes the Philippines an ideal place to in which to build smart cities.

 

While building an environmentally sustainable large hotel or a mixed-use residential, commercial, and office complex cost more than the regular development projects, the long-term savings and cost benefits are achieved in through lower maintenance and refurbishing costs as well as low energy consumption. — VS, GMA News