The City of Yokohama is engaged in the “International Technical Cooperation through Yokohama Partnership of Resources and Technology (Y-PORT) Project,” which aims to support the resolution of urban issues in emerging countries and other regions and the overseas expansion of companies by utilizing the experience and know-how of urban development and corporate technology.
The following report details Yokohama’s inter-city cooperation with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in Thailand.
Vibrant urban development in Bangkok metropolitan area
1. Renewal of memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
Since signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on technical cooperation with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in 2013, the City of Yokohama has provided technical cooperation, including support for the formulation of the BMA Climate Change Master Plan.
Policy dialogue and business exchanges between the two cities based on this MOU have led to local business projects, including a roof-mounted solar power generation project by Yokohama City company Finetech Inc. in Bangkok during the past fiscal year. The company’s business is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 844 tCO2 per year by utilizing the JCM (Japan-China Credit Mechanism) promoted by the Ministry of the Environment.
Click here for examples of commercialization of fintech
https://yport.city.yokohama.lg.jp/case/175
On July 4 of this year, the Director General of the International Affairs Bureau of Yokohama City visited the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to deliver a new three-year MOU to the Governor of Bangkok.
Bangkok Metropolitan Government taking a commemorative photo with the updated memorandum
Governor Chachart (left) and Yokohama International Bureau Director Hashimoto (right)
The Governor expressed his expectations for further cooperation with Yokohama toward decarbonization. Based on the MOU, the two cities will form projects with companies in Yokohama under the “City-to-City Collaboration for Zero-Carbon Society” initiative adopted by the Ministry of the Environment, and promote efforts toward decarbonization. This project was adopted by the Ministry of the Environment in FY2022 and is being implemented as a three-year plan.
In addition, the Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to Southeast and South Asia will continue to promote open innovation and next-generation talent exchange between companies located in the two cities
2. Kicking off the second year of the Intercity Cooperation Project with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
The City of Yokohama, together with the Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan (OECC), the Yokohama Urban Solution Alliance (YUSA), and companies in the city, is working on the above-mentioned inter-city collaboration project.
Public-private policy dialogue held in Bangkok last year
This project aims to introduce Japanese decarbonization technologies to Bangkok by utilizing the experience of Yokohama City, assist the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in formulating an energy action plan, and conduct business matching between companies, while utilizing the Bilateral Credit Mechanism (JCM) led by the Ministry of the Environment.
On July 4, 2023, the kick-off meeting for the project’s second year was held with the Department of Environment—the counterpart of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration—and the implementation plan and schedule for this year was confirmed, including efforts to generate business opportunities based on the local needs assessment conducted in the previous year.
Commemorative photo of the second year kick-off with the Department of Environment, Bangkok Metropolitan Government
Field survey (waste disposal site)
3. Automated driving demonstration project by Yokohama Company
In Thailand, public transportation is still expanding and traffic congestion is an issue, as is non-compliance with traffic rules. Therefore, the creation of a system to transport passengers in a stable manner using automated driving technology is one way to solve this problem.
Macnica, a YUSA member and Yokohama-based company, has been proceeding with automated driving demonstration experiments in Thailand, after having conducted an automated driving demonstration at Amata Industrial Estate (Chonburi Province, Thailand) in 2019.
In FY2022, Macnica delivered an automated driving vehicle (passenger car) to the Department of Science Service (DSS) under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation in collaboration with Thai startups and others. Macnica also received an order from the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) of Thailand for self-driving carts in support of a local Thai startup, and conducted a service verification using five self-driving carts in the vicinity of Bangsue Station in Bangkok. In the future, they are expected to expand the service and implement it in other locations in Thailand.
Self-driving demonstration test
4. Feasibility study project on proper management (proper disposal and recycling) of electrical and electronic waste by companies in Yokohama City adopted by Ministry of the Environment
Proposals by YUSA members and Yokohama-based companies Koei Shoji Co., Ltd. and Carbon Free Consulting Corporation were selected by the Ministry of the Environment of Japan for a project to promote the overseas expansion of Japan’s recycling industry.
The Thai government is aiming to achieve both economic growth and environmental conservation under the BCG (Bio-Circular Green) economic model. Therefore, Koei Shoji and Carbon Free Consulting will investigate the feasibility of a project for the proper management of electrical and electronic waste (proper disposal and recycling) in Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Chonburi Province in order to prevent environmental damage and unauthorized data leakage due to the increase in the volume of IT equipment waste resulting from Thailand’s economic growth.
These Yokohama companies plan to conduct workshops and other activities in Thailand, taking advantage of the Office of the City of Yokohama Representative to Southeast and South Asia, YUSA’s network, and the inter-city collaboration between Yokohama City and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
In addition, on July 31, a tour of Koei Shoji’s Yokohama plant was conducted by the Thai Ministry of Industry and Thai SMEs.
Factory tour by the Thai Ministry of Industry (Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama City)
5. Announcement
Business matching with Thai companies
As part of the city-to-city collaboration project with Bangkok, we are planning to hold a business matching seminar at Bangkok in October this year. If you are interested in new development or expansion of decarbonization technologies, products, and services in Thailand, please feel free to contact us using the contact information below.
12th Asia Smart City Conference
The 12th Asia Smart Cities Conference will be held face-to-face for the first time in four years.
・Date: November 13th (Monday) to November 15th (Wednesday), 2023
・Meeting location: Minato Mirai 21 district, Yokohama, Japan
We will update the information on the website below in the future, so please stay tuned. Updated information will also be announced on the Y-PORT mailing list, etc.
Photo from past Asian Smart City Conferences
Contact information
International Cooperation Division, International Bureau, City of Yokohama
10 City Hall, 31st floor, 6-50 Honmachi, Naka-ku, Yokohama 231-0005
Tel: 045-671-4703 Fax: 045-664-7145
E-mail: ki-yport@city.yokohama.jp
