CEBU City has been eyed as a pilot area for Russian waste management and smart city technologies, according to Philippine-Russian Business Assembly secretary Caesar Atienza.
Atienza said the Philippines is exploring possible economic cooperation with Russia, particularly in emerging technologies.
These include information and communications technology, artificial intelligence and waste management systems.
Atienza said Russia has shown interest in Cebu City because of its position as one of the country’s major IT hubs.
“Cebu is attractive to Russia because of its strong information technology industry, which started in 2001 and has now grown significantly,” Atienza said.
He said the sector employs close to 200,000 workers, up from about 10,000 workers in the early years of the industry.
Atienza said Russia has developed waste management systems, including waste-to-energy technologies that could reduce reliance on landfills.
“Russia has systems that allow waste to be converted into energy, minimizing the need for landfill use,” he said.
He said these technologies could help address waste management challenges in the Philippines, including in highly urbanized areas such as Cebu City, where a landfill in Barangay Binaliw collapsed last Jan. 8, killing 36 people.
“The Philippines is still behind in adopting these kinds of systems; if we are introduced to Russian technology, we may be able to catch up with global developments in smart cities and circular economies,” Atienza said.
Atienza said Cebu could be among the areas considered for the testing of these technologies, citing its role in the development of the country’s IT and IT-enabled services sector. / ABC