Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, speaks at a conference held on July 16 in the city on information and communications applications for a smart city (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA)- To achieve smart-city status, at least 90 percentof residents in Ho Chi Minh City should be usinga smartphone by 2022, a top official said at acommunications conference held in the city on July 16.
Nguyen Manh Hung, Ministerof Information and Communications, said that smartphones were being usedby only 60 percent of people in the city that leads the country’stelecommunications industry.
To improve the city’seconomy and solve its urgent problems, the use of new technologies must bepromoted more aggressively by the city authority, he said.
The city shouldalso aim to have all households connected to theinternet so that a foundation for an e-government can be built,he added.
Hung said the city wouldhave 5G internet available in research areas, industrialparks and universities by 2020 and throughout the entire city by2022.
“We cannot develop a smartcity and build an e-government unless all people have smartphones and access tothe internet,” he said.
In an earlier meeting,Hung called upon local technology giants Viettel, Vingroup and FPTto manufacture 5G devices by 2020.
He said thecountry had an ambitious goal to produce 5G equipment to serve localdemands and for export.
Speaking at the conference,Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, said that cityleaders had met with businesses to discuss cooperative effortsto build smart urban areas and creative urban areas.
The city has given priorityto growing in a sustainable manner and providing full public services toresidents.
He said a smart city wouldimprove the living environment and economy, as well as reduce pollution.
“More importantly, with asmart city, residents will play a critical role in supervising Governmentactivities,” he said.
Nhansaid that HCM City had already launched majorcomponents for smart urban areas, including the first phase of a commondatabase and plan, a simulation and socio-economic-strategy forecastingcentre, an information security centre, and e-government.
The database willinclude information about socio-economic development policies that can be accessedby businesses, citizens, managers and investors.
Nhan said that leaders andmanagers should be less reactive and more proactive by forecasting andpreventing problems before they occur.
Among the initiatives,smart systems for traffic management, parking lots, toll collectionsand environmental management will provide updates on air, water, waste andnoise parameters.
With a population of 10million, the city should choose one key area to develop smart urbanarea first and then develop other areas later, he said.
Nhan recommendedthat the city focus on a new “innovative urban area” in District 9 in thecity’s eastern part.
The easternpart of the city contributes 30 percent to the city’s GDP. Thearea has the highest density of high-tech training, research andapplication centres in the city.
Digitaltransformation
On July 15, the ministeralso had a meeting with representatives of businesses in HCM City, atwhich he said city businesses needed to make the digital transformation toremain competitive and enhance their value.
He said to encourage themto change from traditional to digital enterprises, the Government offersincentives such as permits to import technology products for research anddevelopment, tax breaks for IT experts and helping create links betweenbusinesses and universities to ensure a flow of high-quality human resources
Digital transformation isthe process of changing from traditional models by applying new technologiessuch as big data, the internet of things and cloud computing.
"The transformationdoes not require businesses to invest in infrastructure but only to changetheir mindset," Hung said.
Digitisation changesoperational and leadership methods as well as work processes and corporateculture, and could help enterprises increase their revenue by 30 percent whilecutting costs by 30 percent, according to experts.
But not all companies in Vietnamare ready for it. The factors that preclude companies from digitising includelack of skills and resources and cybersecurity.-VNS/VNA
Nguyen Manh Hung, Ministerof Information and Communications, said that smartphones were being usedby only 60 percent of people in the city that leads the country’stelecommunications industry.
To improve the city’seconomy and solve its urgent problems, the use of new technologies must bepromoted more aggressively by the city authority, he said.
The city shouldalso aim to have all households connected to theinternet so that a foundation for an e-government can be built,he added.
Hung said the city wouldhave 5G internet available in research areas, industrialparks and universities by 2020 and throughout the entire city by2022.
“We cannot develop a smartcity and build an e-government unless all people have smartphones and access tothe internet,” he said.
In an earlier meeting,Hung called upon local technology giants Viettel, Vingroup and FPTto manufacture 5G devices by 2020.
He said thecountry had an ambitious goal to produce 5G equipment to serve localdemands and for export.
Speaking at the conference,Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee, said that cityleaders had met with businesses to discuss cooperative effortsto build smart urban areas and creative urban areas.
The city has given priorityto growing in a sustainable manner and providing full public services toresidents.
He said a smart city wouldimprove the living environment and economy, as well as reduce pollution.
“More importantly, with asmart city, residents will play a critical role in supervising Governmentactivities,” he said.
Nhansaid that HCM City had already launched majorcomponents for smart urban areas, including the first phase of a commondatabase and plan, a simulation and socio-economic-strategy forecastingcentre, an information security centre, and e-government.
The database willinclude information about socio-economic development policies that can be accessedby businesses, citizens, managers and investors.
Nhan said that leaders andmanagers should be less reactive and more proactive by forecasting andpreventing problems before they occur.
Among the initiatives,smart systems for traffic management, parking lots, toll collectionsand environmental management will provide updates on air, water, waste andnoise parameters.
With a population of 10million, the city should choose one key area to develop smart urbanarea first and then develop other areas later, he said.
Nhan recommendedthat the city focus on a new “innovative urban area” in District 9 in thecity’s eastern part.
The easternpart of the city contributes 30 percent to the city’s GDP. Thearea has the highest density of high-tech training, research andapplication centres in the city.
Digitaltransformation
On July 15, the ministeralso had a meeting with representatives of businesses in HCM City, atwhich he said city businesses needed to make the digital transformation toremain competitive and enhance their value.
He said to encourage themto change from traditional to digital enterprises, the Government offersincentives such as permits to import technology products for research anddevelopment, tax breaks for IT experts and helping create links betweenbusinesses and universities to ensure a flow of high-quality human resources
Digital transformation isthe process of changing from traditional models by applying new technologiessuch as big data, the internet of things and cloud computing.
"The transformationdoes not require businesses to invest in infrastructure but only to changetheir mindset," Hung said.
Digitisation changesoperational and leadership methods as well as work processes and corporateculture, and could help enterprises increase their revenue by 30 percent whilecutting costs by 30 percent, according to experts.
But not all companies in Vietnamare ready for it. The factors that preclude companies from digitising includelack of skills and resources and cybersecurity.-VNS/VNA
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