OPENS THE PROGRAM “SMART CITIES” FOR 315 MUNICIPALITIES OF THE COUNTRY FROM JULY 1
From July 1, 315 Municipalities of the country will have the opportunity to participate in the “Smart Cities” program. As announced by the Minister of State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis from Chania, from next month the Municipalities with a population of less than 100 thousand inhabitants will be able to submit proposals for their digital transformation. In this way, the countdown begins for the second phase of the “Smart Cities” program, which was announced by the Ministry of Digital Government at the conference of the Central Union of Greek Municipalities in October 2021, designed and implemented by the Deputy Minister of Digital Thodori Livanio.
According to APE-MPE, the submission of plans will be done digitally, through the Integrated Information System of the NSRF (OPS NSRF), until October 31, 2022. For this purpose, the mechanism of the Ministry of Digital Government will be at its disposal. Central Union of Municipalities of Greece, but also each Municipality separately, for any information or assistance needed regarding the preparation and submission of development plans for the program.
The “Smart Cities” program gives the opportunity to all Municipalities to align with the central administration regarding the field of digital transformation. The purpose of the program is to upgrade the daily lives of citizens and local communities, by selecting those digital projects that best meet the priorities of each Municipality, through a list of projects structured in seven categories:
• Sustainable Mobility • Energy Saving • Reducing the Energy Footprint of Municipal Buildings • Improving Citizen and Business Service • Improving the Quality of Life • Enhancing Local Democracy, Consultation and Transparency • Protecting from Cyber Attacks and Enhancing Submissions)
The action for the 315 Municipalities is funded with around € 230 million from the European Regional Recovery Fund (ERDF). The amounts available to the municipalities range from € 210,000 (for very small municipalities) to € 2,770,000 (for municipalities with a population of slightly less than 100,000 inhabitants). It is pointed out that each Municipality knows in advance the amount of funding, in order to select the appropriate actions.
An announcement of the Ministry of Digital Government reminds that the program is already in progress for the 16 Municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants plus Trikala, due to the significant digital infrastructure they have already developed. The financing of the first stage, amounting to 90 million euros, is done with resources from the Fund for Recovery and Sustainability.
In detail, the 38 actions, among which each Municipality is invited to choose those that meet its needs, are the following:
-Intelligent Controlled Parking System (CMS) -Smart MMM stops -Smart accessibility system for people with mobility -Smart pedestrian and disabled pedestrians -Traffic information systems -Customer -Carbage disposal center Traffic and Municipal Vehicle Fleet Management. -Smart energy management systems of municipal and school buildings -Smart electric lighting systems inside municipal buildings -Smart City / Municipality Guide with registration of local businesses and promotion of offers -Management system of municipal cemeteries and digitization of files -Plan of management of kindergartens, information of parents with smart application -Digital Platform for management of vulnerable groups and housing course planning, parent information, games, mass sports etc) -Digital Market Management Platform -System for electronic circulation of documents and digital signatures -Electronic payment management system -Provision of telemedicine systems to vulnerable groups for remote diagnosis -Cultural – Sports events – E-ticket management -Installation of intelligent air quality measurement systems in the municipality -Installation of smart water measurement systems in industrial applications etc) -Digitalization and file management system DEYA -Intelligent system of warning and response to hazards (floods, fire, earthquake, etc.) within the boundaries of the municipality and according to their responsibilities. -Smart irrigation system -Urban green and common areas management system. -Digitalization of municipal library catalogs – Creation of a smart municipal library -Digitalization of local cultural heritage -Development of digital twin city -Electronic Budget Consulting System, Technical Program–Electronic System for the Consultation of Regulatory Decisions -Electronic system for the management and organization of the Administration and the operational capacity of the Local Authorities. -Implementation of public performance measurement indicators according to ISO 37122, adapted to the Greek conditions -Integrated infrastructure for protection against Cyber attacks (Network Firewall, Endpoint Security etc) and provision of teleworking system. -Central unified platform for management and data collection of digital transformation actions of local authorities. -Digital Platform of meetings of collective bodies and committees -Creation of interconnection with high speed networks between municipal buildings – infrastructure -Electronic Pricing.