Yanbu Smart City receives prestigious award at Smart City Expo World Congress 2017

RC Yanbu, Smart City Project, won the prestigious Data and Technology Award at the Smart City Expo World Congress 2017, the leading international event on smart cities. The award was given in recognition for RC Yanbu’s innovative and successful implementation and usage of data and technology during Barcelona’s three-day event.

The Royal Commission of Yanbu (RCY) launched its Smart City project in 2014 to support Saudi Arabia in realizing its Vision 2030, which aims to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, tourism and improve quality of life for its citizens.

To cope with the demand for infrastructure and transform Yanbu into a smart city, the RCY teamed with Huawei, the leading global ICT solutions provider, to improve its ICT infrastructure and assist in the city’s digital transformation. Huawei provided ICT support, including Integrated Communication Platform (ICP), the city’s management system, which consists of an IoT data platform, Big Data platform, information integration platform, and converged command center. The ICP assists Yanbu in intelligent public infrastructure management, emergency response, smart policing, and optimizing city administration.

Dr. Alaa Nassif, Chief Executive Officer of RCY, commented on the award, “We are honored to receive this prestigious award. We have been working hard with Huawei to transform Yanbu into a smart city by implementing the latest ICT technologies and innovations to build a sustainable infrastructure that reduces operational costs and boosts the economy while aligning with the vision of the kingdom 2030.”
In 1975, Yanbu Industrial City was launched by a royal decree and managed by Royal Commission.

More than 40 years later, it became the third-largest oil refinery center globally, with oil production exceeding 1.1 million oil barrels per day. Yanbu also has the largest petroleum transportation port near the Red Sea and established key petroleum liquefying and processing locations, making it a hub for business and trade.

Commenting on the award, Dennis Zhang, CEO of Huawei Tech Investment Saudi Arabia, said: “We are happy to see the RC Yanbu Smart City Project receive this award. We at Huawei strive to support and accelerate the digital transformation of our partners and help them take big strides on their journey towards economic diversification and digital transformation through our insights, expertise, and our diverse platforms, ecosystems, and solutions.”

RC Yanbu, Smart City Project, is being developed in phases; the first phase focused on constructing and developing the city’s ICT infrastructure, such as providing broadband internet connectivity city-wide and cloud computing to provide interconnectivity and networking capabilities.

The second phase commenced in 2016 and saw the development of city applications to enhance municipal administration. The applications included Heavy Vehicle Management, Smart Waste Management, Smart Streetlight, Smart Parking, Smart Energy Efficiency Monitoring, Crowd Density Analysis, Smart Manhole Cover, and Comprehensive Performance Assessment, which were developed using IoT technologies.

The deployment of these applications has significantly increased the city’s management efficiency. It has also reduced road maintenance costs by 20%, public street lighting costs were reduced by 30%, while the efficiency of trash disposal was increased by 30%.

The final phase will focus on connecting all parts of the smart city into a central command center. That includes the city management platform and a smart community portal, and all smart public services to activate the smart city fully.

“The cooperation and achievements of the RCY and Huawei for Smart Yanbu Industrial City set a high standard and model for other cities. Huawei provides a robust ecosystem through its innovative ICT solutions and ecosystems. We can now sense, analyze the data we have through these systems and make informed decisions and faster responses to various requirements,” said Dr. Nassif, adding “I believe city development based on solid information based on reliable data will improve people’s lives, and create a better city life for our citizens.”