Smart cities call for clever planning

[Photo provided to China Daily]

China's move to promote the development of smart cities can open up a huge potential market, but it can also mean risks for investment and construction, an information and security official said on Friday.

Wang Xiujun, deputy director of the State Internet Information Office, said that some local governments had simply introduced the smart cities concept but ignored building basic facilities.

"Some cities hoped to find a new growth engine and push forward their industrial transformation and upgrading by pursuing a smart cities agenda. But they did not really understand what smart cities are," said Wang during the China Smart City Innovation Conference in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

"The facilities can only provide isolated information rather than integrated services to support economic and social development," she said.

"Cities should invest cautiously to develop cloud computing and data centers," she said.

According to International Data Group, China's investment in smart city development will reach 2 trillion yuan ($326.7 billion) in the next decade.

More than 320 cities and 260 counties have gotten involved in the development of digital facilities, according to Li Weisen, deputy director of the National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation.

For example, a supercomputing center and the Tianhe II supercomputer in Guangzhou have played an increasing role in the city's industrial transformation, according to Mayor Chen Jianhua.

New technology concepts arrive in Shanghai	Smart city investment set to top 2 trillion yuan by 2025