Singapore is smartest city in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, says IDC

SINGAPORE has come out tops in a "smart city initiatives" 2015 contest across the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan, research agency IDC said in a press release on Monday.

The Republic won in four out of 14 categories, trumping the runner-up China which won in three categories.

The four categories Singapore shone in were transportation, land use and environmental management, water as well as education.

IDC cited Singapore's "intelligent transport systems" initiative; the National Environmental Agency's NEA "smart mapping for dengue prevention and control"; the country's "smart water sensors for water management"; and an education programme called FutureSchools@Singapore.

The other 10 categories that the IDC contest looked at were: public works; permitting, licensing, inspection and zoning; smart buildings; public safety; smart grid; tourism, arts, libraries, culture and open spaces; administration; connected health; economic development; and social services.

The evaluation process for the competition included public online voting and assessment by an international panel of senior IDC analysts, IDC said.