GQEBERHA: South Africa is set to join the global trend of developing ‘smart cities’ with the Eastern Cape the first to be earmarked for the project.

The province’s premier Oscar Mabuyane this week revealed that work was underway to develop the first of its kind city in the country.

Presenting his state of the province address on Thursday (17 February), Mabuyane indicated that the project was still in the planning and design phase, with the provincial government working to attract investors.

“The development of the African Coastal Smart City is gaining momentum, following the president’s roadshow on the eastern seaboard towards the end of 2021,” he said.

“This initiative is going to serve as a game-changer and a catalyst for further development and investment attraction throughout the Wild Coast. There are already investors who have expressed an interest in the area. To facilitate implementation on the Eastern Cape side of the programme, we have appointed Coega (Special Economic Zone) to package our projects.”

The development is expected to take place between Port St Johns and Margate on the country’s Wild Coast.

A smart city is defined as an area that uses information and communication technology (ICT) to improve operational efficiency, share information with the public and provide a better quality of government service and citizen welfare.

The main goal of a smart city is to optimise city functions and promote economic growth while also improving the quality of life for citizens by using smart technologies and data analysis. The value lies in how this technology is used rather than simply how much technology is available.

They are developing rapidly in the Middle East and Asia.

Darul Ihsan Media Desk