Indonesia has shown an upsurge in interest in setting up Smart Cities, which it thinks will boost domestic productivity, quality of life and address the country’s pressing socioeconomic problems.

Research firm IDC says   government officials play a critical role in driving the development of Indonesia’s Smart City roadmap 2025 by leveraging on digital and other technologies to boost government efficiency and productivity.

Smart City project initiatives are taken by many institutions including Telkom, the Department of Transport, and BPJS Kesehatan.

However, many of these projects are funded in silos, and often times, they eventually face long-term operational sustainability issues,” said an IDC official.

“We believe the federal government needs to step up and invest so as to spur the growing momentum of digital city transformations and ensure long-term progress is maintained for Smart City initiatives,” he said.

The government has said it plans to spend more than $420 billion on infrastructure projects over the next five years.

“Cutting-edge technologies for Smart City investments such as the Internet-of-Things (IoT), cognitive computing and mobility solutions are tracked in this research. Functionally, key pilots and projects are found in building administration, energy grids, public safety, transportation, and healthcare,” an analyst said.

The government should focus on empowering city planners with sound and actionable investment advisories, build close partnerships with global Smart City solution providers and ensure competent governance to ensure return-on-investments and project accountability, IDC has recommended.