
South Korean internet giant Naver Corp. said Tuesday it has completed the development of digital twin platforms covering three major Saudi Arabian cities, part of the Middle Eastern nation's smart city initiative.
The total area covered by the platforms for the cities of Mecca, Medina and Jeddah spans approximately 6,800 square kilometers, roughly 11 times the size of Seoul, and includes data on over 920,000 buildings, according to the company.
The digital twin platforms, based on high-precision 3D modeling, provide a wide range of urban planning support features and analytical tools. These include terrain analysis, skyline and sunlight exposure simulations for landscape and view planning, and real-time verification of building designs.
It also enables disaster simulation capabilities, such as flood forecasting and risk analysis.
Balady, Saudi Arabia's national digital platform, which commissioned the project, plans to expand the digital twin platform to additional cities, Naver said. The South Korean company secured the contract in October 2023 and began the project in July of last year.
"We will continue to enhance the platform, expand its regional coverage and discover new use cases in cooperation with local partners," a Naver official said.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Chang Dong-woo
Quelle/Source: Yonhap News, 10.06.2025