Russia to Deploy Digital Twins in All Major Cities by 2027

The technology will transform how cities manage utilities and infrastructure — from leak detection to commercial real estate planning.

By 2027, Russian authorities plan to create digital twins for buildings and urban areas in all cities with over one million residents. The Ministry of Construction believes this initiative will improve the efficiency of utilities and housing services, enhance urban planning, and simplify infrastructure management. Pavel Biryukov, business development director at LIIS, shared more details with *Techinsider*.

A digital twin is a dynamic virtual replica of a physical object or location that stores real-time and historical data — and updates as needed. For example, Moscow has already implemented a digital twin for its water utility system that can detect leaks with meter-level accuracy in just ten minutes. This capability has cut emergency response times to as little as 30–40 minutes.

The Ministry also intends to create a dedicated data operator to oversee the collection and storage of digital model information.

In commercial real estate, digital twins are particularly valuable for managing business centers and shopping malls with high tenant turnover. The technology enables faster reconfiguration of engineering systems and repurposing of spaces.