Kone Corporation, a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, announced its participation in the 5th Arab Future Cities Summit in Dubai, UAE, where Kone was the official ‘Smart People Flow Partner’.

The Summit, which concluded yesterday (September 4), at Sofitel The Palm- Dubai, brought together government representatives and urban mobility experts to discuss the future of smart cities.

As migration towards urban hubs continues to skyrocket, demand from new consumers will necessitate an expansion of the infrastructure which will account for the lion’s share of global investment towards building future cities. The Middle East and North Africa region is one of the most highly urbanized regions in the world, with over $4 trillion worth of projects planned or under construction. By 2050, 90 per cent of the GCC population will be urbanized which accounts for20 million individuals more than today.

Joakim Modeen, head of Service Business, addressed the urban megatrends and their effect on vertical transportation as well as the inevitability of the use of data and cloud storage to improve urban mobility.

On the other hand, the regional managing director of Kone Middle East Africa, Samer Halabi, tackled the paradigm shift that will affect the transportation and mobility sector as the cities absorb more numbers.

He discussed the imperative need to convert vertical and horizontal transportation solutions to smart modes in order to increase effectiveness, reduce technical failures and improve the flow of urban life.

Halabi said: “At Kone we have been exerting all our efforts in researching and devising smarter solutions that will alter the way people move in and between buildings. It is a dear topic to Kone Corporation as we have dedicated our 100 + years of operations to creating a better urban landscape.”

“Today, we are delighted to see a government taking this initiative forward. In fact, leading the talk on the future of smart cities is crucial in facilitating the implementation of smart solutions,” he added.

Earlier this year, Kone has introduced the Kone Care Services that enable end users to monitor and anticipate elevator and escalators problems, through stored data, to the UAE and Qatar. – TradeArabia News Service