A ceremony to launch a project to build a next-generation “smart city” was held in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Sunday.

A Japanese trading firm, Sumitomo Corporation and BRG Group – a Vietnamese real estate company are the main investors for the 4.2-billion-dollar project.
Homes, commercial facilities and office buildings will be built on a 272-hectare site. They will feature advanced technology such as 5G wireless networks and facial recognition security systems.
Construction of the 73-hectare residential area is scheduled to begin next year.
The condominiums will house up to 25,000 people. They will be put on the market from 2022. The other buildings are expected to be completed in 2028. NHK, a Japanese media reported.

Sumitomo Corporation joins hands with BRG Group to build ‘smart city’ in Vietnam

Its aim is to turn the city into a smart city, in the 2019-22 period.

The signing ceremony, held in HCM City, was attended by Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen and UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field.

Under the MoU, the two sides will launch a project to apply smart tickets in public transportation vehicles in the city and develop a geographical information system for the drainage network.

At a meeting with the UK official prior to the signing, Tuyen thanked the UK Consulate General in the city for promoting the partnership, especially in co-operation programmes supported by the UK’s Commonwealth Fund.

He said HCM City is calling for investment in sub-projects of a project to develop smart city, and hopes to gather financial support and consultations from the UK.

The city is also implementing technological solution packages to deal with urgent matters in transport, health care, and urban environment, he said, expressing his hope to learn from the UK’s experience.

Praising education and training in the UK, the city official proposed Field help encourage UK universities to collaborate with their peers in Vietnam and increase scholarships for students.

Field showed his impression at the development of the city, reaffirming the UK Government’s wish to strengthen affiliation with Vietnam and HCM City, especially in trade, investment and people-to-people exchange.

He said the British Business Group in Vietnam based in HCM City is a good linkage for the UK and the city to promote their bilateral trade and investment ties.

Congratulating the city on finishing the first phase of the smart city project, he pledged the UK will continue to work with the city in the field, especially in technological solutions to responding to flooding and smart urban transportation.

He expressed his hope that HCM City will make it easy for the British Business Group in Vietnam to set up a centre to support small- and medium-sized enterprises and start-up firms of the UK to invest in the city.

According to a report on Vietnamnet

By ATSUSHI TOMIYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

Foundations established

Phan Lan Tu, director general of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications, said that the four priority sectors chosen to build the smart city are health, education, transport, and tourism. Since 2017, all four of these sectors have been developed in combination with the development of e-government and administrative reforms to lay the foundations of a smart city.

Regarding urban transportation, Hanoi has applied iparking to search for parking lots and pay for parking through mobile devices. This application will soon be deployed in all districts of Hanoi. Hanoi’s digital traffic map will be deployed to provide information on traffic status and manage public passenger transport in the city.

Regarding education, electronic school reports and family-to-school contacts as well as an online enrollment system has been put in use by 2,700 schools and universities, with the participation of 250,000 families and 6.3 million page views. The rate of online applications at the three levels of primary, secondary, and high school hit 70.68 per cent.

Regarding health management, Hanoi is the first locality to implement e-documents in its health management system, with 900,000 records so far.

Besides, a database of 7.5 million people has been built to set up an application to serve people, enterprises, and city management.

Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee confirmed that becoming a smart city is the essential orientation of Hanoi.

Core elements of a smart city

Based on smart cities established over the world, experts have concluded the core tasks Hanoi needs to complete. First, the city needs to be built on modern information technology and communication (ICT) infrastructure utilising the Internet of Things. People will be connected to their houses, as well as equipment, traffic, and vehicles, among others. Thereby, it is necessary to set up modern infrastructure in transport, healthcare, and education.

Second, citizens the city boasts very low levels of unemployment and relatively high incomes. This is the most important element in building a smart city.

Third, they need dedicated expert teams to manage and operate the technical system of the new smart city.

As a result, the process of building Hanoi as a smart city will include three phases. The first phase (2016-2020) will form the infrastructural foundations and build smart applications on traffic, tourism, environmental management, and security.

The second phase (2020-2025), people will be the stage to take smart city solutions into operation, and form the digital economy. In the third phase (2025-2030), Hanoi will become a functioning smart city.

Challenges along the way

Hanoi is in a good position as it is easy to mobilise investment from domestic corporations such as Viettel, VNPT, FPT, and CMC, and foreign ones like Microsoft.

Various countries with experience in smart city development expressed a wish to co-operate with Hanoi in this sector.

At a meeting with leaders of Hanoi, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore wants to invest and develop hi-tech parks and software industrial zones in Hanoi, strengthening co-operation in smart city development. Singapore is ready to welcome officers from Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general to participate in training courses in Singapore, especially at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Nearly 80 per cent of professors and associate professors, over 80 per cent of leading experts, and more than 35 per cent of universities and research institutes are working and located in Hanoi.

However, Hanoi still has to face many difficulties and challenges to become a smart city, such as ICT infrastructure, general technical infrastructure, traffic jams, water shortages, waterlogging, wastewater treatment, and environmental pollution.

Besides, Hoang Trung Hai, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, said that it is very difficult to ensure enough qualified human resources for smart city development and operating the e-government. Technology, which is an important foundation of a smart city, will connect the government to businesses and people, but human resources are key.

Despite the difficulties and challenges ahead, Hanoi has prepared well for smart city development. The Hanoi People’s Council has just approved the resolution adjusting the city’s programme on applying information technology in the operations of Hanoi’s state agencies until 2020. The programme’s budget has been adjusted from VND1.252 trillion ($55.2 million) to VND3 trillion ($132 million) to develop e-government and socioeconomic sectors.

Hai also required to synchronously develop urban and rural infrastructure, promote administrative reforms, as well as improve the investment climate and quality of human resources.

Source: VIR

General trader Sumitomo Corp., machinery maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and subway operator Tokyo Metro are among the businesses on board. Valued at nearly 4 trillion yen ($37.3 billion), this stands to be the largest Japan-led overseas project to date, according to officials of the Japanese companies involved.

The endeavor, which also involves Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, will be financed from a number of sources: funds the companies raise themselves, overseas development assistance from Japan and subsidies from the Vietnamese government.

The trade ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency will support the companies by conducting research and negotiating with the Vietnamese side.

All of this is in line with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s policy of promoting “high-quality infrastructure investment” in emerging countries. The idea is to win overseas orders by promoting the quality and convenience of Japanese technology, rather than offering discounts. The government sees the smart town as an ideal showcase not just for large facilities, like power stations, but also innovations that are closer to consumers.

The Sumitomo-led consortium has struck a tie-up deal with Vietnamese real estate company BRG Group. Japanese architecture firm Nikken Sekkei is to design the town, which will be built on 310 hectares just north of Hanoi. The drive to the central part of the capital will take about 15 minutes.

The first phase could start as early as October, with 7,000 condo units and commercial facilities to be built by the end of next year.

The condos, aimed at middle-income consumers, will go for the equivalent of 10 million yen to 15 million yen. Sumitomo and BRG will mainly share an initial investment of $1 billion.

Mitsubishi Heavy will provide self-driving buses and charging stations for electric vehicles. This will help keep emissions-spewing cars and motorcycles off the streets.

Smart appliances from Panasonic and smart meters from KDDI will help the town conserve energy, while Daikin Industries plans to develop an air-conditioning system that best suits the Hanoi area’s humid climate. Japanese supermarket operators, including the Aeon group and Summit, intend to open outlets.

Houses will be equipped with solar panels and food waste recycling equipment.

Line 2 of the Hanoi Metro, which is being built with Japanese ODA, will be extended to the site. The plan is for the line to be further extended to Noi Bai International Airport, so it is expected to help bring foreign visitors to the town.

The corporate players see a chance to demonstrate their expertise in developing station buildings and areas along railway lines, hoping to win orders from other countries. Southeast Asia is seeing a flurry of railway and urban development, and interest in smart towns is high.

Singapore’s government and businesses are developing smart towns in Malaysia.

Japanese companies already have their hands in a number of urban development projects in the region. Mitsubishi Corp., for example, has worked with a local conglomerate on a 2.3 trillion yen project in Indonesia. But the Vietnamese project is the first to attract such a large group of major players.

Aside from buildings and high-tech equipment, the companies plan to leave behind another hallmark of Japan: 3,000 cherry trees capable of thriving in the local environment.

Source: Atsushi Tomiyama

Foundations established

Phan Lan Tu, director general of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications, said that the four priority sectors chosen to build the smart city are health, education, transport, and tourism. Since 2017, all four of these sectors have been developed in combination with the development of e-government and administrative reforms to lay the foundations of a smart city.

Regarding urban transportation, Hanoi has applied iparking to search for parking lots and pay for parking through mobile devices. This application will soon be deployed in all districts of Hanoi. Hanoi’s digital traffic map will be deployed to provide information on traffic status and manage public passenger transport in the city.

Regarding education, electronic school reports and family-to-school contacts as well as an online enrollment system has been put in use by 2,700 schools and universities, with the participation of 250,000 families and 6.3 million page views. The rate of online applications at the three levels of primary, secondary, and high school hit 70.68 per cent.

Regarding health management, Hanoi is the first locality to implement e-documents in its health management system, with 900,000 records so far.

Besides, a database of 7.5 million people has been built to set up an application to serve people, enterprises, and city management.

Committee confirmed that becoming a smart city is the essential orientation of Hanoi.

Core elements of a smart city

Based on smart cities established over the world, experts have concluded the core tasks Hanoi needs to complete. First, the city needs to be built on modern information technology and communication (ICT) infrastructure utilising the Internet of Things. People will be connected to their houses, as well as equipment, traffic, and vehicles, among others. Thereby, it is necessary to set up modern infrastructure in transport, healthcare, and education.

Second, citizens the city boasts very low levels of unemployment and relatively high incomes. This is the most important element in building a smart city.

Third, they need dedicated expert teams to manage and operate the technical system of the new smart city.

As a result, the process of building Hanoi as a smart city will include three phases. The first phase (2016-2020) will form the infrastructural foundations and build smart applications on traffic, tourism, environmental management, and security.

The second phase (2020-2025), people will be the stage to take smart city solutions into operation, and form the digital economy. In the third phase (2025-2030), Hanoi will become a functioning smart city.

Challenges along the way

Hanoi is in a good position as it is easy to mobilise investment from domestic corporations such as Viettel, VNPT, FPT, and CMC, and foreign ones like Microsoft.

Various countries with experience in smart city development expressed a wish to co-operate with Hanoi in this sector.

At a meeting with leaders of Hanoi, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that Singapore wants to invest and develop hi-tech parks and software industrial zones in Hanoi, strengthening co-operation in smart city development. Singapore is ready to welcome officers from Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general to participate in training courses in Singapore, especially at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Nearly 80 per cent of professors and associate professors, over 80 per cent of leading experts, and more than 35 per cent of universities and research institutes are working and located in Hanoi.

However, Hanoi still has to face many difficulties and challenges to become a smart city, such as ICT infrastructure, general technical infrastructure, traffic jams, water shortages, waterlogging, wastewater treatment, and environmental pollution.

Besides, Hoang Trung Hai, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, said that it is very difficult to ensure enough qualified human resources for smart city development and operating the e-government. Technology, which is an important foundation of a smart city, will connect the government to businesses and people, but human resources are key.

Despite the difficulties and challenges ahead, Hanoi has prepared well for smart city development. The Hanoi People’s Council has just approved the resolution adjusting the city’s programme on applying information technology in the operations of Hanoi’s state agencies until 2020. The programme’s budget has been adjusted from VND1.252 trillion ($55.2 million) to VND3 trillion ($132 million) to develop e-government and socioeconomic sectors.

Hai also required to synchronously develop urban and rural infrastructure, promote administrative reforms, as well as improve the investment climate and quality of human resources.

Source: Nguyen Huong

It’s been almost two years since Ho Chi Minh City unveiled a plan to remove 20,000 shanty houses from along its canals, but work has stalled in the southern metropolis due to a serious lack of investment.

The city needs a further VND22 trillion ($970 million) to cover the total cost, which is estimated at VND44.1 trillion, Deputy Chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen told a conference held on Thursday to call for private investment.

“The problem has been a headache for the city for years. The city aims to resettle the 20,000 households by 2020, so we urgently need private investment,” he said.

Tran Trong Tuan, director of the city’s construction department, said the city has removed 36,000 shanty houses from along its canals over the past two decades, and most of the remaining structures now are in districts 8, 7 and Binh Thanh.

The city plans to spend VND22.4 trillion from its own budget to remove nearly 14,400 slums from along small canals that do not have high commercial value and are unattractive to investors.

The sum includes the cost to resettle those families in 52 condo projects.

It will need around VND22 trillion more from investors for the other 8,000 shanty houses.

“Investors will be permitted to use either the land along the canals or other ideal locations around the city for their businesses,” said Tuan.

HCMC’s Party chief Nguyen Thien Nhan said the city will invite experts from Japan and South Korea with experience in urban refurbishment to work with the city on the project.

Slums along a dark canal in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

In November last year, HCMC started implementing a master plan to transform the southern metropolis into a “smart city” by 2020, but local residents don’t seem to be too enthusiastic.

The move followed a legislative decision to give the city more decision-making power to boost its development, including authority over land management, investment and public spending.

The goal of this ambitious plan is to solve the problems currently facing the city, including rapid population growth, unsustainable economic growth, inadequate forecasting, planning and management, poor health, education and transport, pollution and weak public administration.

It will focus on creating a better living environment.

According to the plan, HCMC’s residents will gain access to low-cost power, convenient public transport, good healthcare services and schools, fresh air, clean water and diverse recreational activities, while being guaranteed a low crime rate.

The “smart city” plan will also allow the municipal government to make the best use of its resources, thereby improving the quality of services for its people and future generations.

The plan seems to be painting HCMC as some kind of utopia, but its residents are skeptical.

When the plan was first announced last November, it received cynical reactions as readers called it macroscopic and unfeasible.

Source: Duy Tran

The move follows Vietnamese legislators’ decision on Friday to give the city more decision-making power to boost its development, including authority over land management, investment and public spending.

The goal of this ambitious ‘smart city’ plan is to solve the problems the city is facing, including rapid population growth, unstainable economic growth, inadequate forecasting, planning and management, poor health, education and transport, pollution and weak public administration.

It will focus on creating a better living environment for the city’s residents.

According to the plan, HCMC’s residents will gain access to low-cost power, convenient public transport, good healthcare services and schools, fresh air, clean water and diverse recreational activities, while being guaranteed a low crime rate.

Workers will be offered basic services in terms of infrastructure to ensure a competitive edge in the global market, such as broadband internet, clean, stable and cheap energy, opportunities to study and affordable living space.

The “smart city” plan will also allow the city’s government to make the best use of its resources, thereby improving the quality of services for its people and future generations.

Locals and businesses will be able to complete administrative procedures online instead of wasting time in government offices waiting for the final seal of approval.

The plan also promises “advanced tools” for better management that will prevent state officials from causing problems for residents and businesses.

The same solution will be applied in public hospitals, allowing patients to book appointments and services online.

In order to make the plan work, the city will have to spend time building a database that covers infrastructure, the population and public and private investment.

Although the plan seems to be painting Saigon as some kind of utopia, its residents are skeptical.

VnExpress readers’ reactions to the plan when it was first announced last month were cycnical, saying it was macroscopic and unfeasible.

“If the plan can save the city from floods, it’s already halfway to success,” read a comment from Truong Luong.

Lan Nguyen said the plan is putting forward “millennial goals” for HCMC, while Nguyen Thanh said citizens could only “dream” about what the plan promises to achieve.

Source: Trung Son

Speaking at the event, the municipal Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan listed some of the major challenges the city is facing like failure to improve its competitiveness in recent years, gap between infrastructure and population growth, and failure to boost and take full advantage of regional cooperation.

Taking cognisance of these challenges, “in 2016, the city administration decided that becoming a smart city is one of the best solutions for effective urban development”, he said.

According to him, there are five main goals behind the push to become a smart city: make economic growth more sustainable, improve the living and working conditions of its people, engage citizens in city management, improve public services, and ensure sustainable use of natural resources.

The administration, businesses, citizens and social organisations need to act smarter for developing smart city, he said.

He said there are key factors that enable conversion into a smart city, the first being the administration’s ability to anticipate threats and suggest solutions for economic and social development. This is one of the city’s weaknesses at the moment, he said candidly.

The others are building a shared database for all organisations, businesses and citizens; developing the IT infrastructure; and citizens’ inclusion in assessing development progress, he said.

David Wong, Chairman of the Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation, said the digital era encourages the building of smart cities, but there are three key challenges not only in Vietnam but everywhere.
The first is digital infrastructure development both in urban and rural areas.

“This is particularly not easy for a city like Ho Chi Minh City with a population of more than 10 million.”

The second challenge is human resources, but Vietnam has an advantage since it has so many people, workers and talents, something many countries lack, he said.

The third is cyber security, which has become a threat.

The conference heard more suggestions for building smart cities from local and international participants, like the need to build a standard framework, evaluating the smart city based on smart city index, ICT platforms for smart cities and e-governance.

This is the second international conference on smart cities held in Vietnam after the first held in Hanoi two years ago.

Wong said due to the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors and the need for sharing ideas and expertise between countries in the region to realise the transformation into smart cities, the conference would be held in a different country each year.

Next year it would be held in Japan, he added.

Source: VNA