When can a city be called ‘smart?’ The definition varies from nation to nation and even city to city.
To put it another way, every city has its unique personality.
In Phnom Penh’s bustling intersections, where tuk-tuks weave through traffic and street vendors line the roads, a quiet experiment once took place: AI-powered traffic lights, borrowed from India’s Surat, managed to reduce wait times by nearly 30% during peak hours. It was a glimpse into what could be Cambodia’s urban future. As over 80% of Cambodians are projected to live in cities in the coming decades, the pressure to modernize sustainably and inclusively is mounting.
Enter India, home to one of the world’s most ambitious Smart Cities Missions. With proven solutions in waste management, digital governance, surveillance, and sustainable mobility, Indian technology firms are well-positioned to help Cambodia overcome traditional development hurdles. This isn’t just about importing tech; it’s about exchanging ideas, building local capacity, and co-creating cities that are livable, resilient, and citizen-centric.
The Indo-Cambodian smart city partnership could be Southeast Asia’s next great development story, digitally rooted, regionally relevant, and globally inspiring.
Join us in understanding the nuances.
Table of Contents
The Cambodian Urban Context
Phnom Penh, Battambang, and Siem Reap are leading Cambodia’s efforts to become smarter, more sustainable urban centers. As part of the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, these cities are aligned with a regional vision for digital transformation and inclusive growth. Backed by agencies such as the United Nations (UN) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Cambodia has developed national strategies and development frameworks to guide this shift. Yet, significant hurdles remain, including solid waste management, sanitation infrastructure, public transport upgrades, and bridging the digital divide.
Cambodia continues to struggle with infrastructure shortcomings, uneven digital access, and a regulatory landscape that struggles to keep pace with the rapid pace of technological change. The COVID-19 crisis further underscored the critical need for digital reform, particularly in strengthening public services and expanding access to financial tools for underserved communities.
Indian Smart City Expertise
Launched in 2015, India’s Smart Cities Mission is among the most ambitious urban renewal initiatives globally, aiming to transform 100 cities through upgrades, redesigns, and entirely new developments. Indian firms have pioneered scalable innovations in traffic optimization, urban surveillance, integrated command centers, waste systems, and environmental monitoring. Their large-scale deployment of these technologies has positioned them as frontrunners in the global smart city ecosystem.
Key Indian smart city solutions include: India’s smart city ecosystem features a suite of innovative, tech-driven solutions, including:
AI-Based Traffic Management: Intelligent systems that adjust traffic signals dynamically to reduce congestion and improve mobility.
Urban Operations Centers: Centralized platforms that oversee real-time municipal functions, ranging from water distribution to emergency response.
Opportunities for Indian Technology in Cambodia
Indian technology can address several critical needs in Cambodian smart city development:
Digital Infrastructure and Urban Services
Indian tech firms are well-equipped to offer end-to-end digital platforms for governance, service delivery, and community interaction. Their solutions include online portals for civic services. These mobile apps capture citizen input and unified digital payment tools, models that have been successfully scaled in cities like Surat, Pune, and Indore. For Cambodia, such tools could drive efficiency, enhance transparency, and reduce bureaucratic friction.
Smart Waste Solutions
IoT-equipped bins, optimized collection routes, and analytics-driven waste treatment for efficient urban sanitation.
Surveillance Networks with Intelligence
City-wide camera systems enhanced with video analytics for crime prevention and situational awareness.
Environmental Monitoring Tools
Real-time sensors track air, water, and noise quality to support sustainable urban planning.
Sustainable Urban Mobility
Urban congestion and limited transport infrastructure continue to challenge Cambodia’s major cities. Solutions such as adaptive traffic systems and intelligent bus shelters, already trialed in Phnom Penh, offer scalable potential. Leveraging India’s proven capabilities in coordinated traffic control and multimodal transit planning could help Cambodia transition toward cleaner, more efficient urban mobility frameworks.
Waste and Water Management
Managing urban waste remains a critical issue across Cambodia’s cities. Indian innovations, such as sensor-equipped waste bins and data-driven route planning, offer promising tools for boosting collection efficiency and minimizing ecological harm. Similarly, Indian technologies in water management, including smart meters and advanced leak detection systems, can support Cambodia’s goals of water conservation and improved sanitation services.
Public Safety and Smart Surveillance
Advanced surveillance technologies developed in India, combining real-time monitoring with AI-driven data analysis, offer a powerful way to enhance urban safety in Cambodia. These solutions have demonstrated success across Indian cities by reducing crime rates and enhancing emergency response times, making them strong candidates for replication in similar urban settings.
Digital Inclusion and Capacity Building: Bridging the Digital Divide
Access to smart city advancements remains uneven in Cambodia, especially among marginalized groups. Drawing on their experience with rural connectivity and community-driven tech initiatives, Indian companies can help expand digital literacy and affordable internet access. They’re also well-positioned to train Cambodian policymakers and urban planners, ensuring long-term success in integrating smart solutions across governance and public services.
Case Studies and India-Cambodia Collaboration Models
Digital Village Model in Cambodia
India has introduced a digital village pilot in Cambodia aimed at advancing rural modernization and strengthening agricultural ecosystems. This initiative lays the groundwork for scalable urban applications,extending digital infrastructure and essential e-services to marginalized communities and promoting inclusive growth in both rural and urban settings.
Demonstration Projects for Urban Innovation
Indian firms can partner with Cambodian agencies to roll out smart city prototypes in targeted areas,be it digital street lighting, optimized waste systems, or AI-based traffic flow management. These localized pilots can serve as proof of concept, showcasing measurable benefits and helping build trust in the potential of smart technologies across urban communities.
Fostering Learning and Technical Exchange
Indian organizations and academic bodies can play a pivotal role in strengthening Cambodia’s urban development efforts by hosting training sessions, collaborative workshops, and delegation visits. These initiatives would enable Cambodian officials to tap into India’s rich smart city experience, gaining firsthand insight into what’s worked, what hasn’t, and how to adapt successful models to their own local challenges.
Policy and Regulatory Support: Laying the Groundwork for Digital Impact
To fully harness the benefits of Indian technology, Cambodia must enhance its legal and regulatory landscape around data security, digital governance, and privacy protection. Drawing on India’s regulatory experience, Indian firms can offer technical guidance and policy expertise to support these efforts.
The envisioned national smart city platform, championed by UN-Habitat and Cambodia’s Smart City Task Force, provides an ideal arena for collaboration and cooperation. With Indian companies contributing digital tools, data-sharing frameworks, and implementation insights, the platform could accelerate innovation and urban transformation across the country.
Statistics for Guidance
The following statistics can inform the planning and implementation process.
Evaluation and Insights
Strengths of the Indo-Cambodian Collaboration
- India’s experience with scalable digital infrastructure (e.g., Aadhaar, UPI) offers a blueprint for Cambodia.
- Cambodian cities are at an earlier stage, making them more agile and open to the implementation of modular tech.
- Shared cultural ties and regional proximity foster smoother diplomatic and business exchanges.
Challenges
- Cambodia’s urban tech policy is fragmented, lacking centralized coordination.
- Skilled workforce shortage for the deployment and maintenance of advanced systems.
- Indian companies often face limited localization frameworks in Cambodian markets.
The Way Forward
Catalysing Urban Innovation in Cambodia
Achieving smart, inclusive, and eco-friendly cities in Cambodia will demand collaboration across sectors. Indian tech firms, backed by proven track records in scaled urban innovation, can be instrumental in this transformation. By leveraging India’s strengths in digital infrastructure, transit systems, waste solutions, safety technologies, and urban capacity development, Cambodia can accelerate its smart city goals and align with ASEAN’s broader blueprint for sustainable urban growth.
Pathways to Effective Collaboration
- Launch pilot programs that deploy Indian smart city technologies in selected Cambodian urban areas.
- Empower local institutions through training, technical exchange, and hands-on capacity building.
- Reinforce digital governance through updated policies on data protection, cybersecurity, and service standards.
- Encourage coordinated efforts between public agencies, private innovators, academic institutions, and civil society groups.
Conclusion: Driving Cambodia’s Urban Evolution
Indian technological expertise offers Cambodia a valuable springboard for building modern, inclusive, and climate-resilient cities. By adapting insights from India’s Smart Cities Mission, Cambodia has the opportunity to bypass outdated development paths and create digitally enabled, citizen-first urban environments. Collaborations between Indian and Cambodian partners could establish a new benchmark for smart urbanization in Southeast Asia, unlocking benefits for people, businesses, and the planet alike
India’s Smart Cities experience offers not a one-size-fits-all model but a flexible toolkit that Cambodia can adapt to its unique culture, challenges, and aspirations. By joining hands, sharing expertise, piloting projects, and empowering communities, India and Cambodia can co-create a new blueprint for urban development in Southeast Asia. One where the hum of progress is not drowned by congestion or inequality but elevated by collaboration, sustainability, and digital equity.
The smart city dream isn’t just futuristic; it’s achievable. And for Cambodia, the future could very well arrive on three wheels, powered by data, partnership, and purpose.
By sharing dreams and responsibilities, India and Cambodia can create a smarter world.
