South Korea is planning to support the development of smart city infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Uman. The city will be rebuilt with smart city technologies as part of a reconstruction effort after missile and bombing damage from Russian forces.

Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has announced that Uman, along with seven other cities across the world, has been selected for the “K-City Network” project this year.

Uman is an industrial city specialising in optical and agricultural equipment manufacture. The city is also a large tourist centre, especially from Israel. Like many cities in Ukraine, Uman has been the target of repeated Russian air raids, and the city has suffered considerable bomb damage. Under the Korean Government plan, a blueprint will be established to restore transportation, infrastructure and housing in Uman.

The K-City Network began in 2020 to support smart city plans by foreign governments and promote the overseas verification of smart solutions developed by Korean companies.

A total of 4 billion won is to be invested in all the projects, with around 500 million won allocated per construction project.

Eight cities have been selected through open bidding. In a planning-based category, support will be provided for the development of smart city master plans drawn up by foreign governments, including Uman, Indonesia’s future capital Nusantara, Badr City in Egypt and Aghdam in Azerbaijan were chosen for this programme.

The programme will provide support for a preliminary feasibility study of a smart city control centre for Nusantara. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, this will open the way for Korean companies to enter the smart city project in Indonesia’s future capital.

The verification-based category aims to provide opportunities for Korean companies to demonstrate smart city technologies. This year’s programme includes Rangpur in Bangladesh, Haiphong in Vietnam, Sakarya in Turkey and Banyumas in Indonesia.