Cabinet Approves Scheme to Help Smart Cities Take Off 

Cabinet Approves Scheme to Help Smart Cities Take Off 

Bratislava, June 28 (TASR) – Projects aimed at building so-called smart cities will be eligible for state assistance, according to a pilot support scheme for experimental development and innovations towards building of smart cities that the Government okayed on Wednesday.

“The proposal is designed to set the stage for pilot support for projects involving experimental development and innovations with a view to building smart cities in Slovakia,” reads the document submitted by Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Informatisation Peter Pellegrini.

The pilot projects will be funded via a new financial instrument that envisages three ways of funding.

The first of these involves public assistance worth €1 million in total. The second option is grants from private sources, most notably from those based in North America, and the possibility to use the technology centres of multinational corporations, know-how and technology transfers. Thirdly, enterprises themselves can provide the funding required, which is a way of furthering their engagement and motivation to meet the set goals.

“The scheme will bolster international cooperation in the development of smart cities and innovations in this area, and it will aid in establishing new contacts and collaboration in development and innovations between Slovak enterprises and foreign technological corporations,” reads the proposal.

The project will target urban infrastructure, particularly the digitisation of city administration and public services, waste, soil and energy management, individual and public car transport, the Internet of things, the management of public passenger transport, air quality, cyber and food security, and bioeconomy.