Abu Dhabi to collaborate with Singapore companies on smart city pilot projects

The companies will work on transforming street lighting as well as increasing energy efficiency of Al Dannah City buildings

Singapore companies will work on pilot projects such as city lighting and energy efficiency of Al Dannah City buildings in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Singapore companies are collaborating with Abu Dhabi entities including Adnoc, the Department of Municipalities and Transport and Masdar City to develop smart city pilot projects in Abu Dhabi.

The six companies, including MDesign Solutions, Daily Life Renewable Energy, Biodsg and Graymatics, among others, will work on pilot projects such as transforming street lighting as well as increasing the energy efficiency of Al Dannah City buildings, according to a statement from Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio) on Wednesday.

Other projects focus on improving security, citizen productivity and municipal operational efficiency by leveraging video AI with the many installed CCTVs in Al Dannah City.

Daily Life Renewable Energy will work with DMT to implement renewable and sustainable energy sources for units that require an electric power supply in public recreation areas.

The development came after the Abu Dhabi-Singapore Smart Cities Open Innovation Challenge, jointly organised by Adio, Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) and IPI Singapore.

The innovation challenge was launched in May 2021 to accelerate smart city development and foster wider collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Singapore.

Based on their potential to solve smart city challenges in Abu Dhabi, six companies have been selected by the Abu Dhabi entities to co-innovate and develop targeted solutions.

“The success of the innovation will pave the way for future innovation-related collaborations between Abu Dhabi and Singapore, as we strengthen links that enable companies in both cities to tap into wider regional markets,” said Abdulla AlShamsi, acting director general of Adio.

The selected companies will receive support from Adio and EnterpriseSG as they collaborate with Abu Dhabi entities to bring their smart city solutions to life in Abu Dhabi.

Eligible companies will be able to access an EnterpriseSG grant to pilot their solutions while Adio will offer end-to-end support during the business set-up phase of their investor journeys and help to facilitate connections to organisations across the Abu Dhabi ecosystem to access investment opportunities.

The pilot projects are expected to be completed in 2024 with the potential for city-wide implementation in Abu Dhabi, Adio said.

Abu Dhabi has launched a number of initiatives in recent years as it focuses on diversifying its economy away from oil.

The emirate announced measures such as rent rebates, discounts on utility bills and loan guarantee packages to support businesses and stimulate economic growth during the pandemic.

In June, it launched an industrial strategy to boost the contribution of the sector to the overall economy. As part of the strategy, it is investing Dh10 billion ($2.72 billion) in six industrial programmes to more than double the size of the emirate’s manufacturing sector to Dh172 billion by 2031.