If the leaders don't directly get involved, don't directly implement, and don't directly use the technology, then digital transformation is unlikely to succeed.

Overview of the Conference

Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi, along with representatives from units under the Ministry of Construction and Departments of Construction nationwide, attended the conference. The conference was held in both in-person and online formats.

At the conference, representatives from the Information Center of the Ministry of Construction reported on the implementation of digital transformation in the construction industry, the achievements made, and some difficulties and limitations encountered, and introduced key tasks and solutions to promote digital transformation in the coming period.

Changing perceptions and actions regarding digital transformation within the Ministry and the Construction sector.

Speaking at the conference, Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi stated that the Ministry of Construction has issued a plan for digital transformation in the industry for the period 2020-2025, with a vision to 2030, and has achieved some positive results. These include a clear change in awareness and actions regarding digital transformation within the Ministry and the industry.

Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi: The rate of online applications submitted in 2024 reached 87%, a threefold increase compared to 2020, placing the Ministry of Construction in the top 6 in terms of service to citizens and businesses.

The work of building and perfecting the legal framework for the construction industry, and the reform of administrative procedures, have integrated digital transformation, reduced paperwork for citizens, and facilitated the resolution of administrative procedures for people and businesses. In particular, the Ministry's administrative procedure information system has been upgraded and synchronously connected with the National Public Service Portal and national databases on population, further facilitating services for citizens and businesses. The rate of online applications in 2024 reached 87%, a threefold increase compared to 2020, placing the Ministry of Construction in the top 6 for the index of serving citizens and businesses.

However, the Minister also pointed out some challenges being faced in the digital transformation process, including: limitations in awareness and skills in using digital technology among some officials and civil servants; a shortage of information technology and information security personnel; limited resources allocated to digital transformation; and slow data digitization. In addition, new technology platforms such as AI, BIM, GIS, etc., are being deployed and applied slowly.

Also at the conference, representatives from the Department of Urban Development, Ministry of Construction; the Ministry of Public Security ; Viettel Group; and VNPT presented several important papers related to digital transformation and databases in the construction industry.

Learning from successful digital transformation models is the best way to learn.

At the conference, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung shared some experiences and approaches to digital transformation after 5 years of implementing the national digital transformation program. In the era of rapidly developing digital technology, learning from successful digital transformation models is the best way to learn. "For anything new, the best way is to learn, especially from what others have already done successfully," the Minister of Information and Communications shared.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung: Learning from successful digital transformation models is the best way to learn.

Last June, the National Committee on Digital Transformation held an important conference on successful digital transformation models at the ministerial and sectoral levels to be replicated at the Supreme People's Court. In the coming period, at the end of the third quarter, the National Committee on Digital Transformation will organize two more conferences on successful models: the online public service model and the smart operation center model.

After years of digital transformation, we have summarized successful lessons to replicate and disseminate. The Minister of Information and Communications encouraged the Ministry of Construction to refer to successful models from ministries, sectors, and localities in the country, as well as from the Ministries of Construction of other countries around the world. The Minister believes that today, the way to become the best is not to create everything yourself, but to know who is best at what, and then learn from and apply that. This is also Viettel's approach in developing high technology.

AI will not replace humans.

Regarding AI applications, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung stated that the Ministry of Information and Communications is currently focusing on using AI as an assistant to help humans. However, it's important to understand that AI is merely an assistant, still within human control. Even if AI becomes smarter, more knowledgeable, and possesses more expertise, its ultimate goal remains to help humans make decisions and work more effectively. This is a very humane approach: AI does not replace humans. With the support of AI, we can do our jobs better and with less workload, the Minister emphasized.

In that spirit, the Ministry of Information and Communications has officially launched three virtual assistant projects. One virtual assistant supports civil servants, another helps detect inconsistencies in legal documents, and a third assists citizens with the judicial system.

Digital transformation awareness training for leaders.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung particularly emphasized the role of leaders at all levels in the digital transformation process. He stressed that success is difficult if leaders do not directly participate, do not directly implement, and do not directly use the technology, because leaders must change certain regulations to change the way things are done within their organizations.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung: "AI will not replace humans. With the support of AI, we can do our jobs better and with less workload."

The leader must use the product to know if it's good or not, and only then can they set requirements for the technology company to improve it. If the leader uses it, the entire Ministry and the entire sector will follow suit. That is the role of the leader in setting an example.

The Minister also suggested that the Ministry of Construction should plan a training program on digital transformation awareness for leaders, especially heads of departments, bureaus, and provincial-level agencies. At the same time, a comprehensive ministerial plan is needed, in which the Minister assigns specific digital transformation tasks to each unit to ensure that digital transformation is implemented synchronously across the entire construction industry.

The Minister emphasized the importance of pilot projects before scaling up and popularizing digital transformation. Pilot projects should be conducted thoroughly and successfully, then modeled and scaled up across the entire sector. Digital transformation is only effective when implemented across 100% of the sector. However, the challenge lies in the lack of experience and resources to implement everything at once. Therefore, it is necessary to use a single project, a single commune, or a single district as a pilot, pursuing it to completion, and then scaling it up once it proves successful.

To implement digital transformation, we must use digital platforms, not software. It's necessary to clarify what the central government should do and what local authorities should do.

The Digital Transformation Conference for the Construction Industry was held in both in-person and online formats.

In particular, the Minister emphasized that new things, especially those related to technology that have never been done before, must be introduced to local areas and lower levels with detailed guidance and hands-on training. Only in this way can digital transformation penetrate deeply into the grassroots, reaching all citizens and being comprehensive.

Find the formula for success to scale up.

To achieve successful digital transformation, we need to find a formula for success that can be scaled up. The Minister of Information and Communications gave an example: Vietnam's digital transformation formula is Digital Government + Digital Economy + Digital Society. The formula for nationwide digital transformation is "going door-to-door, checking every individual." The Ministry of Public Security, when deploying the national population database, built and developed the data according to the formula "accurate, complete, clean, and relevant." The formula must be concise and accurate to its essence in order to reach the local level.

One of the challenges faced by ministries, sectors, and localities in the digital transformation process is the shortage of human resources in digital transformation. To address this issue, the Minister stated that Vietnam has many excellent information technology enterprises with sufficient capacity to help ministries and sectors successfully implement digital transformation. The main role of state agencies is to provide information and knowledge, while digital technology enterprises have sufficient resources to produce good, high-quality products, helping state agencies effectively implement the digital transformation process.

Regarding investment in digital transformation, ministries and agencies are the state management bodies in that field nationwide, so spending on digital transformation should account for approximately 20-30% of their budgets. To assess the effectiveness of investments in digital transformation, the value created from a project must exceed the cost. Australia's experience shows that if the value created is double the cost, then it should be undertaken.

Finally, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung pledged that the Ministry of Information and Communications is ready to cooperate with the Ministry of Construction in the process of implementing digital transformation.

Source: https://mic.gov.vn/nguoi-dung-dau-khong-truc-tiep-vao-cuoc-khong-truc-tiep-lam-khong-truc-tiep-dung-thi-chuyen-doi-so-kho-thanh-cong-197240827231244114.htm