Engineering Agency,Taipei Water Department

To promote transparency and integrity in the procurement process for its smart water meter deployment project, the Taipei Water Department has, with approval from the Taipei City Government, established the “Taipei Water Department Government Procurement Integrity Platform for the Smart Water Meter Deployment Project.” On January 12, the Taipei Water Department convened the platform’s inaugural meeting and first coordination session, inviting representatives from the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office, the Department of Government Ethics of the Taipei City Government, the Public Works Department, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Public Construction Commission of the Executive Yuan, and Transparency International Taiwan. This initiative demonstrates the Taipei Water Department’s firm commitment to procurement transparency and clean governance.

The Taipei Water Department stated that, in alignment with the Taipei City Government’s smart city vision, it began pilot testing smart water meters in 2015. From 2019 to 2023, the Department progressively implemented Proof of Concept (POC) trials and Field Operational Tests (FOT), providing testing environments for smart water supply solutions. Through open calls for industry participation, TWD actively promoted technological integration across Taiwan’s smart water meter supply chain and stimulated industrial development.

The Taipei Water Department further explained that, as this project represents Taiwan’s first large-scale smart water meter deployment initiative, the domestic market supply and related technologies are still evolving. While advancing policy objectives, the The Taipei Water Department must also address user needs, financial cost-benefit assessments, and ensure stable quality and quantity of water meter supply, making the project particularly challenging. Accordingly, while launching the “Field Operational Test 2.0,” the Taipei Water Department proactively activated the Government Procurement Integrity Platform mechanism, inviting the aforementioned agencies and organizations to participate. By introducing cross-sector external oversight and transparency measures, the platform enhances the identification of integrity risks and provides multi-perspective insights and preventive recommendations, ensuring that decision-making is lawful and that implementation complies with legal requirements and principles of fairness.

The Taipei Water Department emphasized that the Government Procurement Integrity Platform will continue to operate through measures such as cross-disciplinary coordination meetings, strengthened internal audits, and the establishment of a dedicated online information disclosure portal. These efforts aim to secure independent third-party support, enhance oversight and transparency, and reduce public concerns. In addition, the Taipei Water Department plans to host industry forums and dialogues to share best practices on integrity-based contract performance and service quality improvement, jointly fostering a procurement environment built on mutual trust and shared benefits. Through these efforts, the Taipei Water Department seeks to advance smart water meter adoption and realize the broader goal of a smart city.