The German city of Duisburg has signed a Memo of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei to work together on smart city development.
Duisburg Mayor Sören Link and Wang Yonggang, CFO of Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group, signed the MoU that will see both partners begin work to make Duisburg an innovative and digitized Western European model city.
The MoU provides a framework for further discussion in which the two partners will commit to the implementation of specific projects from agreed topics. Plans under discussion range from the deployment of intelligent street lamps, power supply networks, and smart traffic management systems, to cloud based eGovernment solutions that simplify public access for citizens.
In addition, Huawei will offer its experience and solutions in 5G LTE technology and wireless broadband networks, which are required for the future introduction of autonomous driving, smart logistics, and Industry 4.0 services.
Huawei has also announced plans to build a Joint Innovation Center in Duisburg, with the city benefitting directly from innovations developed at the new facility. Plans already include expansion of the city’s WLAN network to include the city zoo and public transport vehicles. In education, the focus will be on building ‘intelligent classrooms’, with wi-fi and broadband connections implemented at Duisburg’s schools.
Ultimately, the goal is to develop innovative ideas and solutions that use new technologies to enhance the quality of life for citizens and visitors, while making Duisburg more attractive to residents, business and investors. This should be done with an ecosystem that includes local and international partners, municipal companies, and exchanges among local research institutions and universities.
Responsibility for the coordination and management of a number of the planned projects with Huawei, particularly those involving supply, infrastructure and traffic, will be under the control of DVV (Duisburger Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft), the municipal department that includes the city’s IT, telecoms, utilities, mobility, road management, and transit agencies. Huawei’s smart city solutions currently serve over 120 cities in more than 40 countries around the globe.
“We are pleased to be able to use our digitization skills to develop the city of Duisburg into a smart city,” said Huawei’s Wang Yonggang. “Our products and solutions, will help simplify daily living of citizens and visitors in Duisburg, and increase security.”
