Ulaanbaatar City Mayor S.Batbold and Yolanda Fernandez Lommen, Principal Economist at the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a memorandum to implement the ‘Future Cities’ programme in Mongolia. The project will support the ‘Smart Ulaanbaatar’ programme, which aims to  adapt smart technologies, to improve urban financial mechanisms and to increase infrastructure investment in Mongolia.

The ‘Future Cities’ programme is a technical assistance project, which is being implemented across Asia and the Pacific. The ADB has selected five cities across Asia and the Pacific, providing integrated planning and support, and assisting them to better manage rapid urban growth and become better places in which to live.  

Over the last two decades (1990-2010) the Asia-Pacific urban population has risen by 29% – faster than any other region worldwide. Between 2010 and 2050, Asian cities are expected to account for a rise from 40% to about 65% of the  total population of the region, which itself is expected to almost double from 1.9 billion to 3.3 billion people.