Seoul City’s investment in environment-friendly projects will improve its competitiveness and growth potential, Roland Busch, CEO of Siemens’ Infrastructure & Cities Sector, said.

The leading expert in infrastructure and urban development urged the capital to further promote citizens and businesses’ engagement to make its green efforts more effective and sustainable.

Megacities around the world are competing to attract capital, companies and talented workers. In order to draw them, the government, together with its citizens and the private sector should make the city a greener, better place to live in, he said.
 
“You have to have top people in order to provide growth. They choose where they want to live. Who doesn’t want to live in a green city where the air quality is high and a city that is the most secure in the world? That is the way how to stay competitive,” the CEO said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

Busch is a member of the managing board of the German engineering giant and an expert on urban development markets in the Asia Pacific region.

He was in Seoul last week to participate in the annual meeting of the Seoul International Business Advisory Council.

Launched in 2001, SIBAC is the forum of global business leaders to advise the Seoul mayor on various economic, social and cultural policy issues.

Calling Seoul’s green initiative “a smart idea,” Busch said the energy-saving projects would cost a lot of taxpayers’ money but would pay back the investment in the future.

The city plans to reduce the use of nuclear power and fossil fuel-based energy by at least 30 percent of the current use by 2020 by expanding the use of renewable energy, improving efficiency, and cutting energy consumption. Seoul plans to invest 3.24 trillion won ($2.96 billion) in the plan by 2014.

“It will cost money but you will save that money. If you are investing, for example in retrofitting your building, you will see you consume less energy. So whatever you do today will save the energy in the future,” he said.

Busch said green investment would help growth.

“Making proper, sustainable development is mandatory to maintain your GDP growth in the future,” he said, noting that the Korean population would stop growing in 2017.

Despite such efforts, Seoul has much to improve in air quality and waste treatment.

Busch said Seoul ranked top overall in the Siemens’ Asian Green City Index, if these two categories are excluded.

According to the report, Seoul has a relatively high level of nitrogen dioxide in the air and produces the most waste among 22 cities surveyed. It generated waste at an estimated 996 kilograms per person per year, much higher than the index average of 375 kilograms.

“By showing where your city is placed in the index, we hope to stimulate the citizens’ curiosity and engage them in the projects to make the city greener.”

Expanding citizens’ participation and increasing partnerships between the public and the private sectors is “mandatory” in order to make the city move forward, he said.

“The best cities, in terms of planning that I am aware of, have a decent understanding in the three parties and have to make them aligned and engage themselves,” he said.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)