German association of towns signs smart city agreement with ZTE
ZTE Corporation, an international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the mobile internet, has signed a Smart City Agreement for Strategic Cooperation with the Drei gewinnt network of cities, comprising Rüsselsheim am Main, Raunheim and Kelsterbach in Germany.
The cooperation, which has an initial contract period of three years and was signed last week on the occasion of the Drei gewinnt Mayors’ visit to China, includes top level design for smart city construction and the selection and introduction of a series of digital solutions. Both parties intend to implement the initial solutions to be ready to serve citizens at the Hessentag 2017 event in Rüsselsheim am Main by mid-next year. In addition, the three cities and ZTE are planning to set up an innovation centre to be called the Smart City Innovation Center am Main.
As a central implementation partner, ZTE will support the digitisation of the Drei gewinnt cities aiming to make them into a model region for smart city solutions in Germany. Together with Drei gewinnt, the company will undertake the top level design that will define overall planning and strategy, identify requirements for digital applications as well as implement smart solutions and will finish the first modules to serve citizens at Hessentag next year.
The Smart City Innovation Center am Main will not only be co-founded by ZTE but will also be managed by the company and will serve as a planning and advisory body. In cooperation with both business and science partners, the centre is intended to help not only the digitisation of the three cities but also to develop a Europe-wide platform for the development and presentation of smart city technologies. In doing so, Drei gewinnt is facilitating the establishment and support of a Chinese IT corporation in the Rhine-Main area.
“We are convinced that digitisation can help to improve the quality of life in our cities, and at the same time contribute to economic development,” said Thomas Jühe, mayor of the city of Raunheim.
“Today, innovative cooperation models between cities and companies are basic prerequisites for enabling individual regions to leverage benefits and opportunities through digitalisation,” explained Sun Jie, general manager of ZTE Deutschland. “This agreement enables ZTE to contribute its full expertise and strength in innovation to the technological evolution of the cities of Rüsselsheim, Raunheim and Kelsterbach. We are convinced that Drei gewinnt will be an ambitious partner and are happy to support the region in this important task.”
Patrick Burghardt, Lord Mayor of the city of Rüsselsheim am Main, added: “Working with ZTE gives us the opportunity to test innovative smart city applications, offering citizens and companies ground breaking digital solutions. Through this cooperation we can become a model region for Hessen and for Germany.”
The European smart city vision
The cooperation between Drei gewinnt, ZTE and other technology companies is designed to establish a process that will eventually lead to the formation of a smart service cluster. This will enable the vision of a European smart city: the development of a liveable, economically strong and ecologically sustainable urban infrastructure with citizen-centred digital services.
In this way, smart technologies will make living and working more comfortable, safer and more effective for all citizens and benefit urban and economic development. “I am convinced that this will help us strengthen the region’s attractiveness for citizens and businesses alike,” explained Manfred Ockel, Mayor of the city of Kelsterbach.
ZTE smart city solutions are currently used in more than 40 countries around the world. In addition, the company is conducting or participating in the construction of more than 145 smart cities.
Drei gewinnt is a partnership by the cities of Rüsselsheim am Main, Raunheim and Kelsterbach. Its goal is strategic cooperation for future-proofing the three cities as a business location and habitat. To reach this goal, it uses synergies, pools resources and leverages and expands common areas of potential at the economic, structural and political level. Together, the three cities form a German-Chinese network with several Chinese city districts.
In 2015, this cooperation was deepened by the formation of a special purpose association, Städtenetzwerk Fernost. The establishment of Chinese companies within the Drei gewinnt area is implemented through joint location marketing and a specially created China competence centre which provides targeted support for companies from the start. The service portfolio comprises consulting in Chinese, assistance in the search for premises, administrative procedures, visa issues and market assessments
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