depending on the number of inhabitants in the respective community (Infrastructure.GC.Ca 2018).
In Latin America, financing mainly comes from public budgets. Additionally,
institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank are involved in financing
Smart Cities (Reportlinker 2017). Due to investments in “. . .connecting all public
services to ICT and fiber. . .” (Reportlinker 2017), numerous Latin American
cities strive for smart technology implementation. Most Latin American governments “. . .are pursuing nationwide investment plans to further digitalize their
countries. . .” (Reportlinker 2017). The report Smart Cities in Latin America:
Smart Grids and Big Data Create Opportunities for Telcos to Capitalize from
Smart City Projects cites, inter alia, Cisco, Ericsson, HSBC, Huawei, IBM,
Philips, and Telefonica. Latin American cities are seeking investment capital of
US$9.5 billion for “smart water” infrastructure projects across the continent. A
report by the CDP
1 highlights “. . .opportunities to finance urban 89 water projects focused mainly in Latin America. . .” (Smart Cities World Forums 2018).
In Australia, 52 Smart City projects are financially supported by the government
within the scope of the AU$50 million Smart Cities and Suburbs Program
(Reichert 2017). Global networking giants like Cisco, Huawei’s Intelligent Operation Centre, KPMG Australia, and Nokia’s smart cities network have also
penetrated the Australian Smart City market (Reichert 2017).
In Africa, a continental initiative for Smart Cities had been kicked off by the Smart
Cities Blueprint
2 which “. . .urges African countries to seek non-traditional
sources of financing” (Siba and Sow 2017), i.e., smart bonds and public-private
partnerships, guaranteeing returns and spread shareholding once a project is
implemented (Siba and Sow 2017).
In Asia, the growth of the Smart City pioneer Singapore in recent decades is
attributed to attracting foreign direct investment (Hynes 2017), although Singapore had formerly been strongly subsidized by the government (GSMA 2017).
Meanwhile, the government of Singapore engages in an export-oriented and
business-friendly policy framework supporting foreign investments (Agentshap
2013). In India, the funding model for Smart Cities shifts from public resources to
contractual public-private partnerships (PPPs) (Hariharan 2017). India’s Prime
Minister Modi noted that India “. . .must look towards urbanisation with sustainability, without looking at it as a problem, but as an opportunity. . .” (Sagar 2017).
Modi has launched a scheme to create 100 new cities in June 2017, although
building infrastructure for Smart City projects exceeds the Indian government
budget by far. So, India relies on investors from both India and overseas (Sagar
2017). Recently, the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities was launched in
Singapore – funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
3 with ca. US
1 An international nonprofit organization supported by AECOM and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
2 Presented by Rwanda’s government at the May 2017 Transform Africa Summit.
3 The Global Environment Facility (GEF) which had been established toward the end of the 1992
Rio Earth Summit supports numerous projects all over the globe, financing over 4000 projects in
170 countries (GEF 2018).
13 The Role of Smart Cities for the Realization of. . .
217
In Latin America, financing mainly comes from public budgets. Additionally,
institutions like the Inter-American Development Bank are involved in financing
Smart Cities (Reportlinker 2017). Due to investments in “. . .connecting all public
services to ICT and fiber. . .” (Reportlinker 2017), numerous Latin American
cities strive for smart technology implementation. Most Latin American governments “. . .are pursuing nationwide investment plans to further digitalize their
countries. . .” (Reportlinker 2017). The report Smart Cities in Latin America:
Smart Grids and Big Data Create Opportunities for Telcos to Capitalize from
Smart City Projects cites, inter alia, Cisco, Ericsson, HSBC, Huawei, IBM,
Philips, and Telefonica. Latin American cities are seeking investment capital of
US$9.5 billion for “smart water” infrastructure projects across the continent. A
report by the CDP
1 highlights “. . .opportunities to finance urban 89 water projects focused mainly in Latin America. . .” (Smart Cities World Forums 2018).
In Australia, 52 Smart City projects are financially supported by the government
within the scope of the AU$50 million Smart Cities and Suburbs Program
(Reichert 2017). Global networking giants like Cisco, Huawei’s Intelligent Operation Centre, KPMG Australia, and Nokia’s smart cities network have also
penetrated the Australian Smart City market (Reichert 2017).
In Africa, a continental initiative for Smart Cities had been kicked off by the Smart
Cities Blueprint
2 which “. . .urges African countries to seek non-traditional
sources of financing” (Siba and Sow 2017), i.e., smart bonds and public-private
partnerships, guaranteeing returns and spread shareholding once a project is
implemented (Siba and Sow 2017).
In Asia, the growth of the Smart City pioneer Singapore in recent decades is
attributed to attracting foreign direct investment (Hynes 2017), although Singapore had formerly been strongly subsidized by the government (GSMA 2017).
Meanwhile, the government of Singapore engages in an export-oriented and
business-friendly policy framework supporting foreign investments (Agentshap
2013). In India, the funding model for Smart Cities shifts from public resources to
contractual public-private partnerships (PPPs) (Hariharan 2017). India’s Prime
Minister Modi noted that India “. . .must look towards urbanisation with sustainability, without looking at it as a problem, but as an opportunity. . .” (Sagar 2017).
Modi has launched a scheme to create 100 new cities in June 2017, although
building infrastructure for Smart City projects exceeds the Indian government
budget by far. So, India relies on investors from both India and overseas (Sagar
2017). Recently, the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities was launched in
Singapore – funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
3 with ca. US
1 An international nonprofit organization supported by AECOM and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
2 Presented by Rwanda’s government at the May 2017 Transform Africa Summit.
3 The Global Environment Facility (GEF) which had been established toward the end of the 1992
Rio Earth Summit supports numerous projects all over the globe, financing over 4000 projects in
170 countries (GEF 2018).
13 The Role of Smart Cities for the Realization of. . .
217