The project to build Ho Chi Minh City into a smart city was born in 2017. To date, what results has the city achieved, especially since expanding its administrative boundaries?
- After nearly 9 years of implementation, Ho Chi Minh City has passed the "base building" phase and is moving to the data-based operation phase, with many specific and measurable results. The city has gradually formed core components such as shared digital platforms, shared data warehouses, Smart City Operation Center (IOC), traffic monitoring systems, environment, and security.
First of all, in terms of digital infrastructure, the City has formed a relatively synchronous platform: Data center with more than 1,272 servers, connecting 818 State agencies via specialized networks; 100% of the area is covered by telecommunications and fiber optic cables, and is promoting 5G deployment. At the same time, the city has built a network of more than 10,000 cameras and an IoT system to serve urban management.
Regarding smart urban management, many systems have been put into effective operation such as: Traffic control center with 118 traffic measurement points, 216 smart control intersections, digital map system integrating more than 200 layers of GIS data, flood management platform (FEDS), Network security monitoring center...
Regarding data and digital platforms, the city has built a shared data warehouse with 45 databases, of which 30 databases have been operated, and 70/91 open data sets have been announced. In particular, 14/16 data groups have been connected to the Central Government, cleaning up more than 14.8 million population data, creating an important foundation for digital governance.
From the perspective of serving people, the digital ecosystem is increasingly perfecting administrative procedures that are publicized, many procedures are exempt from fees when carried out online. The switchboard for receiving feedback and petitions 1022 and especially the Ho Chi Minh City Digital Citizen application has become an effective two-way interactive channel, with more than 650,000 downloads and over 3.7 million interactions.
In the smart city construction strategy, Ho Chi Minh City focuses on 4 main pillars including: Infrastructure and Digital Platform; Digital Governance; Digital Economy; Digital Society. To make Ho Chi Minh City truly break through in building a smart city, in 2026 and beyond, what specific solutions will Ho Chi Minh City have?
- In the coming period, Ho Chi Minh City will shift from "system building" to effective exploitation and value creation from data, with some breakthrough orientations:
First, regarding digital infrastructure, the city will complete a unified urban data platform, including building a data architecture framework, standardizing data from fields such as planning, transportation, environment, health... and fully connecting to a common data warehouse to serve analysis, forecasting and decision-making. The city is strongly shifting to the Cloud-First, AI-First models, developing large-scale data centers, aiming to become the "Data Hub of Southeast Asia".
Currently, there are 12 data centers and 4 super centers being prepared to be formed. In parallel, the city pays special attention to in-depth training on data labeling standards for specialized forces. Data must be systematically classified and standardized so that Artificial Intelligence (AI) models can learn and maximize efficiency.
Second, on urban governance on data, focus on completing the data ecosystem: Putting 100% of the necessary data into a common data warehouse; Standardizing according to the principle of "right - sufficient - clean - living"; Opening data for businesses to exploit; Deep connection with national data.
The city will complete the Digital Government Management Platform and the IOC Center in the direction of: 100% operation based on real-time data; Building scenarios for socio-economic, traffic, environmental, and emergency situations; Applying AI to support forecasting and decision-making; and at the same time, focusing resources on promoting the construction of digital twins. This is a strategic breakthrough, allowing visual simulation and simulation of complex urban scenarios such as flooding and traffic congestion, thereby providing a scientific basis for city leaders to make immediate and accurate decisions.
Third, regarding the digital economy, the city will promote businesses to participate in "co-creation"; Sandbox testing (self-driving cars, drones, smart logistics...); Developing an innovative ecosystem; establishing a digital enterprise ecosystem.
Fourth, regarding digital society, the city also focuses on developing human resources and digital society, promoting "digital literacy", helping people have digital identity, digital skills and access to digital services. This is a key factor to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital transformation process.
The city identifies data as the core platform, so it focuses on building a data warehouse architecture and collection mechanism to ensure "correct, sufficient, clean, and live", with the ability to connect and share between agencies. At the same time, Ho Chi Minh City also organizes implementation according to an inter-sectoral model, with unified coordination and clear assignment of responsibilities to each unit.
The difference also lies in the continuous flow of data. With the streamlining of the apparatus, no longer intermediate administrative levels and the consolidation of strategic advisory agencies (such as traffic - infrastructure planning assigned to the Department of Construction; finance - investment assigned to the Department of Finance), inter-sectoral data inter-connection and control work takes place faster and more comprehensively than ever, especially when closely combined with the population database from the City Police.
In addition, Ho Chi Minh City is a rare locality with large data scale (more than 14.8 million residents, millions of transactions/day); Has a strong technology ecosystem (more than 500 research organizations, 140 science and technology enterprises, 55% of programmers nationwide); orientation for inter-regional and multi-center development, not limited to administrative boundaries.
An important new point is that Ho Chi Minh City will implement a controlled testing mechanism (sandbox) for new technologies such as AI, big data, and digital cities, in order to encourage innovation and attract businesses to participate. With the specific goal of bringing Ho Chi Minh City into the Top 50 smart cities in the world (IMD) and forming at least 2 innovative, highly interactive urban areas before 2030.
This is the foundation for Ho Chi Minh City to move towards a smart megacity model based on data and innovation.
Urban monitoring systems help authorities respond faster to problems such as traffic, flooding, and the environment. The application of technologies such as cameras, AI, and IoT also contributes to improving security, reducing congestion, and improving urban management quality.
More importantly, people are not only beneficiaries but also become a source of data generation, thickening data, directly participating in the management process through interaction on digital platforms, and at the same time implementing urban supervision, contributing to building a transparent and responsive government.
Thank you, Madam, for the interview!
