Australia has announced the ASEAN-Australia Smart Cities initiative to foster collaboration on smart city development and to promote regional economic integration.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Julie Bishop, said ASEAN cities are growing at an extraordinary rate, with more than 90 million people expected to move to urban areas across Southeast Asia by 2030.
"When cities grow, so does prosperity, trade and economic growth. To harness these opportunities, cities need innovative solutions, smart planning and good governance," she said yesterday.
"Over the next five years, Australia will help ASEAN develop cities across Southeast Asia in smart and sustainable ways."
Bishop announced a $30 million investment, to provide training and technical assistance to build resilient and competitive communities, including an ASEAN Smart Cities Network.
"We will also support efforts to advance sustainable urbanisation in ASEAN, and establish a regional urbanisation forum," she said.
"Australia has world-class expertise to share in fields such as green infrastructure, renewable energy and data analytics.
"Australia has a long history of working with our close neighbours to support regional development."
One of the biggest beneficiaries of this regional growth is the HVACR industry, which is growing at a CAGR of 9.30% from 2017 to 2023.