# Mayors and Leaders Will Ride the Wave of Disruptive Innovations and Tap on Alternative Sources of Infrastructure Financing

- **Source:** Ministry of National Development
- **Published:** 2018-07-08T12:30:00.000Z
- **Author:** Ministry of National Development
- **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/mayors-and-leaders-will-ride-the-wave-of-disruptive-innovations-and-tap-on-alternative-sources-of-infrastructure-financing
- **Topics:** Government & Policy, Investment & Capital Markets, Sustainability & PropTech

## Featured rationale

Greater private-sector participation and innovative financing could help cities bridge infrastructure investment gaps, potentially accelerating projects that support urban development and property markets.

## AI summary

The 2018 World Cities Summit Mayors Forum gathered 122 mayors and city leaders to discuss disruptive innovation and alternative infrastructure-financing models.

## Original article

Themed “Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future through Innovation and Collaboration”, the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum (WCSMF) 2018 held today brought together 122 mayors and city leaders, and international organisations who participated actively at the Forum.

Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance, Singapore, and Chairman of the Forum, called on delegates to help cities flourish by leveraging on disruptive innovation, while not losing sight of the need for good urban governance and integrated planning and development to glean positive outcomes for their citizens. Highlighting the widening gap between cities’ infrastructure spending needs and investment, Minister Lawrence Wong also spoke of the need to rethink infrastructure financing strategies such as greater engagement with the private sector and other cities in a manner that is fair, integrated and well-structured.

The WCSMF 2018 is a key highlight at this year’s World Cities Summit (WCS), a biennial global platform for government and industry leaders to address liveable and sustainable city challenges, share integrated solutions, and forge high-level partnerships. Currently in its 9th edition, the WCSMF nurtures a global community of mayors and city leaders, to exchange ideas and best practices and explore solutions to address common challenges.

Discussions at the Forum centred on how mayors can embrace and capitalise on disruptive innovations, and the alternative models of financing for infrastructure projects. Mayors discussed the importance of being receptive to new technologies, their plans to build intelligent cities, and their experiences in obtaining private financing for public projects.

Also at WCSMF this year, the discussions from the World Cities Summit Young Leaders Symposium[1] were summarised and presented. Held this morning, the Symposium with 88 young leaders from 38 cities generated active discussions on innovative solutions and governance. Mr Ted Chen, Co-Founder of Evercomm, presented the Young Leaders’ insights into urbanisation’s long-standing challenges. Challenges surfaced included the disruptive nature of innovation in the public, private and people sectors. They also discussed insights into urban management and effective governance.

WCS Mayors Forum 2019

Minister Lawrence Wong announced that next year’s WCSMF will be held in Medellin, Columbia. The city was awarded the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize in 2016 for overcoming difficulties through several stages of transformation to achieve remarkable economic prosperity and preserving its celebrated cultural and historic heritage concurrently. H.E. Federico Gutiérrez, Mayor of Medellin, extended a warm welcome to the mayors and city leaders, on behalf of the city and people of Medellin, to attend the 2019 Mayors Forum.

[1] The World Cities Summit Young Leaders is a select group of change-makers from diverse sectors who shape the global urban agenda at the annual World Cities Summit Young Leaders Symposium – the 5th edition this year.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 市长与领导人将乘颠覆性创新之势并开拓基础设施融资替代来源

以“宜居与可持续城市：通过创新与协作拥抱未来”为主题的2018世界城市峰会市长论坛（WCSMF）于今日举行，汇聚了122位市长与城市领导人以及积极参与论坛的国际组织。

新加坡国家发展部长兼财政部第二部长、论坛主席Lawrence Wong（黄循财）先生呼吁与会代表，通过运用颠覆性创新帮助城市蓬勃发展，同时不忘良好城市治理以及综合规划与发展，从而为市民带来积极成果。黄循财部长还指出，城市基础设施支出需求与投资之间的差距正在扩大，并强调有必要重新思考基础设施融资策略，例如以公平、综合且结构完善的方式加强与私营部门及其他城市的合作。

2018世界城市峰会市长论坛是本届世界城市峰会（WCS）的一大亮点。世界城市峰会是两年一度的全球平台，供政府与行业领导人应对宜居与可持续城市挑战、分享综合解决方案并建立高层伙伴关系。现已进入第9届的世界城市峰会市长论坛，培育了一个市长与城市领导人的全球社群，以交流理念与最佳实践，并探索应对共同挑战的解决方案。

论坛讨论聚焦于市长如何拥抱并善用颠覆性创新，以及基础设施项目的替代融资模式。市长们讨论了接纳新技术的重要性、建设智慧城市的计划，以及为公共项目获取私人融资的经验。

本届世界城市峰会市长论坛上，还汇总并呈报了世界城市峰会青年领袖座谈会[1]的讨论内容。座谈会于今早举行，来自38个城市的88位青年领袖就创新解决方案与治理展开了活跃讨论。Evercomm联合创始人Ted Chen先生介绍了青年领袖对城市化长期挑战的见解。提出的挑战包括创新在公共、私营及民间各界的颠覆性影响。他们还讨论了城市管理与有效治理方面的见解。

2019年世界城市峰会市长论坛

黄循财部长宣布，明年的世界城市峰会市长论坛将在哥伦比亚麦德林举行。该市因历经多阶段转型、克服困难，在取得显著经济繁荣的同时保留其备受赞誉的文化与历史遗产，而获颁2016年李光耀世界城市奖。麦德林市长Federico Gutiérrez阁下代表麦德林市及市民，向各位市长与城市领导人致以热烈欢迎，邀请他们参加2019年市长论坛。

[1] 世界城市峰会青年领袖是一群来自多元领域的变革推动者，他们在一年一度的世界城市峰会青年领袖座谈会上塑造全球城市议程——今年为第5届。