BCDA, NEDO partner for smart mobility

MANILA, Philippines — The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is partnering with a Japanese government agency for a three-year demonstration project on smart mobility solutions to be implemented in New Clark City and its environs.

In a statement yesterday, the BCDA said it recently inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) of Japan for the said initiative.

According to the BCDA, the demonstration project will be executed by a group nominated by NEDO, led by Zenmov Inc., to measure and verify the effectiveness of a transport service system that operates via a cloud-based technology platform.

Zenmov Inc. is a Japan-based information technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in the transportation sector.

The BCDA emphasized that the demonstration project would 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,” BCDA president and CEO Aileen Zosa said.

“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,”she said.

Zosa said the study’s findings would allow the BCDA to 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 the 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,”the BCDA said.

NEDO is a national research and development agency that creates innovation by promoting technological development necessary for realization of a sustainable society, under Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (METI).

The MOU with NEDO was signed by Zosa and NEDO executive director Shuji Yumitori. The signing was witnessed by President Marcos and other Philippine government officials, as it was part of the president’s official visit to Japan.