Land minister vows to make smart cities Korea’s key export
Korea will push forward with urban development in foreign countries using state and private firms’ smart city technologies to support them in dealing with increasing population and rising housing demand, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Park Sang-woo said Monday.
Park said the global population, currently 8.1 billion, is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, and the increase will raise demands for housing and better urban communities worldwide.
“There are needs in the world for new cities,” Park said in his first press conference as land minister in Sejong. “Cities require roads, housing, electricity and water. This means a tremendous market for us.”
The country has been developing urban infrastructure construction technologies by introducing new urban communities, power plants and manufacturing plants domestically, he said, adding that the track record will enable the country to launch a strong “One Team Korea” of the government and private firms.
The ministry’s urban development projects already began in countries including Iraq, Vietnam, Indonesia and over a 662,000
Cities require roads, housing, electricity and water.
This means a tremendous market
for us.
square meter-large site in Kuwait, the minister said. Some of them were launched 10 years ago when the minister was working for Korea Land and Housing Corp. under the ministry.
“We’ve been getting so many calls from different countries that were envious of our residential buildings,” he said.
At the core of the plan is building smart cities that are more efficient,
safer, cheaper to live in and environmentally friendly, he said, noting Sejong and Busan have been designated as testbeds for smart city technology.
Park said he plans to launch smart city projects to revitalize areas where their infrastructure has gone dated and updates are needed.
“Almost all the countries that want us to provide housing to their local societies demand smart city communities,” he said. “The Kuwaiti government was one of them. But it didn’t want the full scale of Korea’s smart city to unfold in its land. It wanted the technologies to be adjusted to its own needs. So we agreed to provide 20 smart farming technologies to the nation. That’s what we do, provide customized smart city projects for countries with varying needs.”