China’s University of Macau (UM) and local company Nam Kwong Petroleum & Chemicals (NKOil) have signed an agreement to cooperate on smart city development.
 
They hope to promote the commercialisation of research results, cultivate talent and jointly create a smart city in Macao. Both parties will carry out cooperation in gas pipeline network optimisation, energy IoT, distributed energy and equipment safety monitoring. They also plan to establish a mechanism for regular communication and strengthen cooperation in nurturing talent in such areas as smart city development, IoT, smart energy and big data for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay area.
 
With the support of the Macao SAR government and the Science & Technology Development Fund, in 2018 UM obtained approval from the state government to establish a state key laboratory of IoT for smart city development. The lab is dedicated to solving key scientific and technical problems related to IoT for smart city development by proposing fundamental and general theories, algorithms and systems.
 
Since its establishment, the lab has been focusing on five areas – smart sensor and communication network, urban big data and smart technology, smart energy, smart transport, and urban public security and disaster prevention.
 
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Nam Kwong Group, NKOil takes serving Macao and Macao residents as its mission. It says it is committed to optimising the energy structure and stabilising the supply of petroleum products in Macao to fulfil its social responsibility.
 
Its subsidiary, Nam Kwong Natural Gas, actively cooperates with and supports the implementation of the relevant administrative policies and concepts of the Macao SAR government, promotes clean and efficient energy as well as the digital application of natural gas pipeline networks and smart gas construction, and strives to champion environmentally friendly energy and smart city technology.
 
UM rector Yonghua Song and NKOil general manager Tang Zhaohui signed the agreement. Other guests at the signing ceremony included Wang Tongyan, executive director and vice-president of Nam Kwong Group; Ge Wei, vice rector of UM; Yang Zhixin, director of the Research Services and Knowledge Transfer Office at UM; Lao Kin Sang, deputy general manager of NKOil; Wong Man Chung, professor in the State Key Laboratory of IoT for Smarty City at UM; and Zhang Haijun, assistant general manager of enterprise management of NKOil.