After joining in ASCN, Vietnam has launched various practical activities like the project ‘Developing Smart Cities in Vietnam in the Period from 2018 – 2025, with a Vision to 2030’. This project prioritizes three specific goals of planning smart cities, managing smart cities, and developing proper utilities for these cities.
Based on current integrated database platforms, many cities in Vietnam, including Hanoi, Da Nang City, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), have been successful in delivered smart services in the fields of education, healthcare, transport, construction, environment, greatly improving the living standards of citizens.
In 2020, the world has had to focus on the tough fight against Covid-19.
The representative of HCMC reported that applications in the smart city model have played an effective role in the city’s fight. Particularly, the Command Center for Pandemic Prevention, based on the existing operation center for the city located in HCMC People’s Committee, has worked non-stop 24/7 since April 1. It has monitored nearly 1,200 cameras, including 112 devices installed in hospitals and centralized isolation areas. in addition, the hotline to receive feedbacks and reports from citizens and businesses, organizations on disease prevention tasks has operated continuously.
HCMC was the pioneer in implementing a system to manage quarantined people and Covid-19 patients in centralized isolation sites; in launching an app for its residents to declare their health status; in monitoring the location of people getting close contact with patients.
In the last few months, HCMC has been able to integrate the automatic respond-to-inquiry system of the Healthcare Ministry into its electronic information portal so that those in need can access precise information. It also asked mobile network providers to deliver propaganda messages to 55.7 million subscribers to raise awareness about Covid-19.
Discussing the possibilities of coming back to the normal status during and after this pandemic, Secretary General of ASEAN Lim Jock Hoi shared that there must be a cooperation among ASEAN members in forming smart cities in the region, including digital connections and urbanization strategies.
“The most important matter is to create a partnership between smart cities in the region and in the world. We need better understanding about state and private sectors in order to unlock all potentials and resources, to timely grasp valuable opportunities as to smart city after the pandemic”, said Mr. Lim Jock Hoi.
Vietnamese Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha announced that if Covid-19 pandemic is well under control, Vietnam is going to organize an ASCN summit for members at the end of 2020 to further discuss and exchange experience about smart city development as well as boosting relationships with potential partners outside ASCN.
