Phnom Penh: Cambodia is taking another step forward to creating “Smart Cities”. It hosted a Virtual Conference on Smart City Planning on Monday, organised by the Ministry of Civil Service and the Temasek Foundation, in cooperation with Cambodia’s Royal School of Administration and the Civil Service College of Singapore.

The day-long conference was opened by Civil Service Minister, Mr. Prum Sokha. It was attended by over 200 delegates from ministries, provincial and municipal administrations. Singapore’s ambassador to Cambodia, Ms. Teo Lay Cheng and the CEO of the Temasek Foundation, Mr. Benedict Cheong, also addressed the conference.

With up to 80% of Cambodia’s population expected to be living in cities over the next decade, the Minister said it was important that smart cities were developed. He stressed that this did not just mean an increase in digital services, but that the emphasis should be placed on cities being “livable”. This means easy access to food and clean water, as well as 21st century transportation and communication.

ASEAN founded its Smart Cities Network in 2018 to promote smart and sustainable urban development. In Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap have been identified as its smart cities of the future.