48 provinces and cities are implementing smart urban development projects.

On December 2, the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association - VINASA and the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications opened the Vietnam - Asia Smart City Conference 2024 with the theme "Smart City - Digital Economy - Sustainable Development".

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Hanoi Chairman Tran Sy Thanh, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam and delegates visited the exhibition held in parallel with the Vietnam - Asia Smart City Conference 2024. Photo: MS

The opening session was attended by Central Party Committee member, Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh; Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Phan Tam; Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy; Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Ha Minh Hai and more than 700 delegates from 28 provinces and cities and representatives of 18 countries and economies in the region and around the world.

In the opening statement of the conference, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Ha Minh Hai said that the conference is a major forum for Hanoi and other localities in Vietnam and internationally to discuss, exchange experiences, share digital transformation solutions and strengthen cooperation in the field of technology, towards a smart, modern, and sustainably developed urban future.

“The experiences and practical lessons shared at the conference will be an important driving force for Hanoi and localities in the region to seize opportunities, overcome challenges, and realize the goal of building green, smart and sustainably developed cities,” said Mr. Ha Minh Hai.

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Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Ha Minh Hai said that Hanoi will strive to pioneer in digital transformation, building "3 pillars 1 platform" including digital government, digital economy, digital society, with the foundation of digital culture and citizens, security and safety in cyberspace. Photo: BTC

According to VINASA Chairman Nguyen Van Khoa, by the end of last year, Vietnam had 902 urban areas with an urbanization rate of about 42.7% and the urban economy contributed about 70% of the country's GDP.

"The problem for us is how to find new motivations and development space in the context of constant changes in politics, economics and technology. We believe that digital economy, green economy and new technology may be the answer," said Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa.

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Taking place over 2 days, December 2 and 3, with 8 conference sessions, the Vietnam - Asia Cities Conference 2024 attracted more than 700 delegates from 28 provinces and cities, along with representatives from 18 countries and economies in the region and around the world. Photo: Organizing Committee

Regarding the current status of smart urban development in localities across the country, Mr. Tran Ngoc Linh, an expert from the Department of Urban Development (Ministry of Construction), said that 48/63 provinces and centrally-run cities nationwide have or are implementing smart urban development projects.

In addition to implementing the Project at the provincial level for urban areas throughout the province, some localities have assigned their affiliated urban areas to deploy smart urban development at the city, town, and district levels to pilot before expanding it to the entire province.

Regarding smart urban planning, many localities have begun to focus on building the foundation for smart planning, first of all building the urban database foundation, applying geographic information systems - GIS to smart planning and management. Currently, about 43 cities and towns in the localities are doing this.

Along with that, about 57 localities focus on providing smart services and utilities to people, mainly in the field of transportation, followed by smart healthcare, smart education and developing warning applications.

Lack of resource mechanism for smart urban development in Vietnam

Speaking at the conference, a representative of the Urban Development Department (Ministry of Construction) also pointed out the difficulties in developing smart cities in Vietnam such as: Smart urban planning and management have not been promoted, lacking legal corridors; resource mechanisms for smart urban development are still lacking, there is no form of connecting the private economic sector, so the mobilization of resources from society is still separate and not synchronized; the organization and implementation work is still confusing...

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Mr. Tran Ngoc Linh, expert from the Urban Development Department (Ministry of Construction) shared about the current situation and difficulties in developing sustainable smart cities in Vietnam. Photo: MS

From RMIT University's research on smart sustainable cities in the APAC region, Associate Professor Nguyen Quang Trung, co-leader of the RMIT Vietnam Center for Smart and Sustainable Cities, said: " Smart and sustainable cities are moving to the third stage of development, focusing on active participation of society, instead of relying solely on the Government or simply on technological solutions. The research team calls for the need to build a flexible policy framework to integrate new technology, increase resilience to climate change and develop smart governance" .

Learning from cities like Singapore, Seoul and Sydney is an important direction, said Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung: These are cities that have succeeded in applying advanced technology to traffic management, optimizing energy and public services, improving the quality of life and promoting economic efficiency.

“Regional cooperation and experience sharing among cities are prerequisites to optimize resources and build a sustainable foundation. Initiatives need to ensure comprehensiveness, narrow the digital divide and leave no one behind,” Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung emphasized.

4 core values ​​of Hanoi in digital transformation, building a smart city According to Mr. Ha Minh Hai, "Digital government - serving government, digital enterprise - dedicated enterprise, digital society - society of trust, digital citizen - happy people" are the core values ​​of Hanoi in digital transformation.