German software company SAP is set to enter into a partnership with the Chinese government in order to develop intelligent transportation systems (ITS) to ease traffic congestion in the country’s urban areas.

As part of the partnership, SAP and the Chinese High-Way Group are planning a broad collaboration to research integrated solutions for transportation communications and develop ITS systems.

Urbanisation is expected to be a major challenge for China, with its urban population expected to grow by more than 400 million people by 2025.

SAP executive board member Gerd Oswald said that the intelligent management of public transportation is vital for sustainable economic growth and the long-term socioeconomic development in the country.

"SAP and the Chinese High-Way Group are planning a broad collaboration to research integrated solutions for transportation communications and develop ITS systems."

"The collaboration should help China manage its next phase of sustained growth with the help of advanced technology from SAP for big data analysis and predictive analytics, mobile computing and cloud-based solutions," Oswald said.

China’s total investment into ITS systems has increased to more than €500m annually; however, the country’s existing IT environment lacks the ability for predictive and advanced data analysis to manage different traffic and transportation situations.

The core of SAP’s contribution in the collaboration will be Hana, the company’s super-fast database, which enables real-time analysis of huge data.

SAP will collaborate with the China Ministry of Transport (MoT) and is expected to integrate the comprehensive domain expertise for traffic, logistics and transportation of the MoT, as well as research and technology for intelligent transportation.

SAP entered the Chinese market in 1991, and currently serves around 6,000 customers in the country.