Kenya and South Korea sign a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the development of Kenya’s first smart city

Kenya’s Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy has signed an MoU with the Korea Trade Center Nairobi (KOTRA), marking a significant step forward in the country’s digital transformation. 

In accordance with this MoU, Korea will assist Kenya in bringing many landmark projects to fruition, including the construction of 5,000 housing units in the Tatu City Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the development of a roadmap that will guarantee the development of five digital cities in Lamu, Dongo Kundu, Athi River, Sagana, and Naivasha. 

As part of the agreement, Kenya will build Konza Technopolis, the smart city it champions in its Vision 2030 master plan, with a cutting-edge transportation network.

Engineer John Tanui, Principal Secretary of the ICT and Digital Economy, commented on the agreement inked at the third Kenya International Investment Conference (KICC), emphasizing “the importance of harnessing innovation and emerging technologies for sustainable infrastructure.” 

Tanui also applauded the prior efforts made by the government to prepare the nation of East Africa’s digital economy for sustainable development. “The government has played an enabling environment through various legal and regulatory frameworks to spur Kenya’s digital economy namely; The National ICT Policy, Digital Economy BluePrint, National ICT Master Plan (2022-2032), National Cyber Security Strategy 2022, Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019 and Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act 2018 among other policy interventions,” he said. 

According to Eom IK-Hyun, managing director of the Korean Trade Centre (KOTRA),  Korea shared similar interests with Kenya when it comes to Smart Cities.

The Memorandum of Understanding will support and nurture collaborations and financial investments in the nation’s development of smart cities.  

In addition, it will support the creation of a framework for smart cities and strive to create a smart mobility system that uses a smart transportation network and smart driver licenses.  

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