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IFEZ discusses exporting smart city model with Indian municipalities

Published: 10 Apr. 2025, 13:57 Updated: 10 Apr. 2025, 14:35

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Incheon Free Economic Zone and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority officials discuss ways to collaborate on smarty city development and operation at the India Global Forum in Mumbai, India, on April 8. [INCHEON FREE ECONOMIC ZONE]

The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) discussed ways to collaborate on exporting its smart city infrastructure model with Indian authorities and signed an agreement with a local university for smart city research, its office said Thursday.

A team of IFEZ representatives visited Mumbai and New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida), a planned city in northern India, to attend the India Global Forum on Monday.

They discussed practical ways to share expertise on smart city development with India’s state government authorities, including those from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

IFEZ signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for research and development with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India’s oldest engineering institution, at a conference in Noida on Wednesday. Under the deal, they will develop and apply smart city technology and jointly host events for knowledge sharing.

The two institutions will also construct a lab in Songdo International City in Incheon.

Officials from Incheon Free Economic Zone and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee pose for a photo after signing a memorandum of understanding for research and development on smart cities at Sarvottam Uttar Pradesh Global Governance & Smart City Vision 2025 in Noida on April 9. [INCHEON FREE ECONOMIC ZONE]

IFEZ said it made its “first step” in collaborating with South Asia to expand its global smart city initiative to share Incheon’s development model with cities worldwide through its efforts in India.

The team will further meet with Indian state government authorities to discuss specifics on materializing their smart city collaboration at the upcoming Incheon Smart City Summit 2025, set to take place in Songdo in November.

“This agreement marks an important starting point for creating a global smart city model, bringing together IFEZ’s experience in smart city development and operation along with India’s growth potential,” IFEZ commissioner Yoon Won-seok said in a press release. “We will continue to expand our smart city model through global agreements.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]