Singapore Partners International Telecommunication Union to Pilot Development of a Global Smart Sustainable Cities Index

Singapore, 13 October 2015

Singapore will take part in an exercise led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to pilot a set of key performance indicators that will go towards the eventual development of a "Global Smart Sustainable Cities Index". This index will allow ITU to benchmark and rank cities' performance in terms of their level of "smartness".

As part of a two-year pilot exercise, Singapore will test and pilot over 70 indicators that will provide a holistic assessment of how smart and sustainable a city is. Singapore and Dubai have been the first to join the pilot exercise, and ITU expects other cities to follow suit. Following the pilot exercise, the participating cities will draw on their experiences with the indicators to contribute to ITU's planned development of a Global Smart Sustainable Cities Index.  

A Collaboration Agreement between Singapore and ITU was signed today at a ceremony held in conjunction with [ITU Telecom World 2015][1] in Budapest, Hungary.The signatories were Chaesub Lee, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau; and Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

"Singapore is an ideal testbed for ITU's key performance indicators for smart sustainable cities as the city-state is making good progress in its Smart Nation initiative. Beyond the basic physical infrastructure, a smart sustainable city should also enhance citizens' happiness and quality of life. ITU is pleased to support the aspirations of Singapore's Smart Nation vision, and we value the support that Singapore has offered to ITU's planned development of a Global Smart Sustainable Cities Index," said Chaesub Lee, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.

"Singapore is delighted to participate in this pilot exercise by ITU to trial smart cities' indicators and develop a global smart cities index. This is an excellent opportunity for IDA to share Singapore's experience and learn from the other participating cities. Singapore's Smart Nation journey is not just a process of building infrastructure, but is more importantly about improving lives of citizens and enhancing our economy by being a Smart Nation," said Leong Keng Thai, Deputy Chief Executive, IDA.