The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan on Friday, February 10 inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a three-year demonstration project on smart mobility solutions to be implemented in New Clark City and its environs.
The signing between BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Aileen R. Zosa and NEDO Executive Director Dr. Shuji Yumitori was witnessed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., along with top government officials. The occasion was part of the President’s business missions during his five-day official visit in Japan.
The demonstration project will be executed by a group nominated by NEDO, led by Zenmov Inc., a Japan-based information technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in the transportation sector, to measure and verify the effectiveness of a transport service system that operates via a cloud-based technology platform.
The demonstration project will come at no cost for the Philippine government, with NEDO and Zenmov committing to finance the project.
“In keeping with our goal for the New Clark City to become a green, sustainable and inclusive city, we have partnered with Japan’s NEDO and Zenmov to help BCDA in developing advanced and innovative solutions to improve transportation services and connectivity in this region. We can definitely learn a lot from this sharing of technologies and expertise that our Japanese partners have relating to the advancement of their transportation sector,” PCEO Zosa said.
She added that through the study’s findings, “BCDA can also develop solutions to better optimize energy use, minimize pollution and lower carbon footprint, and manage congestion and other traffic-related issues.”
Under this demonstration project, a new public transportation system called “Primary Rapid Transit (PRT)”, an energy-efficient and convenient “last mile” service will run using the Smart Mobility Operation Cloud (SMOC).
The SMOC, Zenmov’s cloud-based fleet management system, maximizes operational availability while keeping the number of vehicles at a minimum by managing a lean dispatching system based on travel demand data. This will be complemented by more energy-efficient, low-carbon, and innovative vehicles such as electric vehicles, and electric bikes, as well as smart poles and drones for real time data collection and dissemination, to complete the system. All of these project components are covered by the demonstration project initiated by NEDO.
A government organization under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, NEDO is a national research and development agency that creates innovation by promoting technological development necessary for realization of a sustainable society.