President William Ruto selected Dongo Kundu, Lamu, Naivasha, Athi River and Sagana towns to host five smart cities replicating South Korea’s Incheon.
In a statement issued by the Presidential Communication Service on Thursday, November 24, Ruto agreed to prioritize establishing special economic zones in the five towns.
While visiting the Incheon Free Economic Zone in the Seoul Capital Area, the president declared that the project will stimulate entrepreneurship, drive investments and spur growth in the country.
“The zones will support a wide range of business activities by providing tax benefits, quality administrative services and a comfortable living environment,” Ruto remarked.
The Head of State further explained that Kenya will also leverage Korea’s cutting-edge technology to enhance the digital economy, boost business and create employment.
Termed the city of the future, the five cities will be technology hubs targeting zero carbon levels. They will be education, healthcare, business, tourism and distribution centres.
Services in the city will be integrated through a hyperconnected network. All zones will be fitted with disaster safety and crime prevention systems with the use of object recognition cameras.
In addition, the hubs will have a control system which will allow for autonomous (self) driving and smooth traffic flow. All bus tops will be smart, secure and have charging points.
All information from the city will be stored in a cloud bank that will be made available to investors who will develop technologies.
An intelligence building system will be installed to monitor houses, including air conditioning, air quality control, energy control, parking and security system.
Furthermore, all cities will have an innovation hub to foster creative start-up companies and offer financial help to businesses to enable them to reach their potential.
Expansion for innovation will be encouraged by connecting research and technology.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE
