Phnom Penh City Hall and Japan have held talks on the setting up of a smart bus station as part of the capital’s Smart City development project. The talks were held recently in a virtual meeting between Nuon Pharat, deputy governor of Phnom Penh and representatives from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, representatives from the Japanese Embassy in Cambodia and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as officials from the Department of Public Works and Transport. A smart city is an urban area that uses different types of electronic methods and sensors to collect data. “The project is still in its primary stages,” Pharat explained, citing that the smart bus station project is a part of a Smart City System in Phnom Penh. According to the document shared in the meeting, the smart bus station will feature solar panels, advertising space, ticket kiosks, ATMs, WiFi compatibility, CCTV, dedicated bus lanes, and traffic information. Heang Sotheayuth, spokesman at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, said: “The development will contribute to making travelling within Cambodia a much easier experience to residents and visitors alike.” Sotheayuth said. “In the framework of the Public Works Ministry, work related to building infrastructures to support the programme of a smart city have been boosted,”. he added. In 2018, Cambodia nominated Phnom Penh, Battambang, and Siem Reap city as smart cities in the framework of the Asean Smart Cities network. They will work on reaching Asean’s common goal of achieving smart, sustainable urban developments in 26 cities around the region by 2025. Phnom Penh’s smart city action plan will focus on improving the environment and the quality of life of its residents, according to Secretary of State of the Interior Ministry, Ngy Chanphal, who is also the ASEAN Smart Cities Network National Representative of Cambodia.