New development space advantage
After merging with Yen Bai, Lao Cai became a locality with a large development space, converging many advantages in international border gates, minerals, agriculture - forestry, processing industry and tourism.
Instead of exploiting individual advantages as before, the province is aiming to build a linked value chain based on science, technology and innovation.
At the Resolution of the 1st Provincial Party Congress, term 2025-2030, Lao Cai issued a Project on developing digital infrastructure and increasing the proportion of the digital economy in the period 2026-2030 with a total estimated resource of more than 9,000 billion VND.
Unlike the previous approach, Lao Cai is gradually building an innovation ecosystem in a synchronous direction. In which the State plays the role of creating institutions, and businesses are the center of innovation.
Currently, the whole province has 19 science and technology organizations and businesses, along with about 50 innovative startups operating in the fields of high-tech agriculture, border gate logistics, tourism and digital transformation.
Standing Vice Chairman of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee Ngo Hanh Phuc said that science, technology, innovation and digital transformation are not only trends but also key driving forces to create breakthroughs in development in the new period.
Lao Cai cannot develop quickly and sustainably without relying on knowledge, technology and innovation," Mr. Ngo Hanh Phuc emphasized.
According to Mr. Phuc, Lao Cai will continue to improve the innovation ecosystem in an open direction, putting businesses at the center, with the government playing a constructive role, accompanying and creating a favorable environment for scientists, technology businesses, investment funds and the startup community to participate.
Completing digital infrastructure, creating attraction for technology investors
In recent years, Lao Cai has prioritized the development of digital infrastructure with more than 5,000 mobile broadcasting stations, including 578 5G stations; the fiber optic coverage rate to villages and hamlets has reached 99%; 4G coverage has reached 99.5%; the 5G network has covered all industrial parks, industrial clusters and more than half of the population.
Along with that, 100% of state agencies at the provincial and commune levels have connected to specialized data transmission networks; all electronic documents have been digitally signed; more than 48,000 dossiers of cadres, civil servants, and public employees have been digitized and about 95% of work dossiers have been processed on the network environment.
In 2026, the province will put into operation the Data Warehouse and Open Data Portal, the Intelligent Operations Center (IOC), the EGOV digital government platform and the LaoCai-S digital citizen application.
These platforms are expected to help businesses access information, carry out investment procedures quickly and more transparently, while significantly reducing time and administrative costs.
Businesses are supported with human resource training, digital transformation consulting, establishing intellectual property rights, applying quality standards, connecting technology supply and demand and commercializing products.
Another highlight is that the province is developing a Project to establish the Lao Cai Venture Capital Fund with a planned budget capital of up to 300 billion VND for the period 2026-2035 to attract investment funds and businesses to participate in developing the startup ecosystem.
Not stopping there, Lao Cai is expanding its portfolio calling for investment in high-tech fields such as data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, digital education, digital healthcare, cross-border logistics...
With an increasingly complete digital infrastructure platform, digital government operating in a serving direction along with the determination to accompany businesses, Lao Cai is gradually turning geo-economic advantages into new competitive advantages based on knowledge and technology.
This is expected to be a "lever" for the locality to welcome the wave of technology investment, form high value-added economic sectors and create sustainable growth momentum in the coming years.
