VietNamNet Bridge – Information technology enterprises from the US will help Viet Nam develop smart cities, US Ambassador to Viet Nam Ted Osius said.

A proposal to turn HCM City into a smart city is being planned by the city’s Department of Information and Technology. — VNA/VNS Photo

Osius was speaking at conference on developing infrastructure for smart cities in Viet Nam yesterday, with the participation of Nguyen Thanh Hung, deputy minister of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and some 30 enterprises and agencies from both countries.

Upon hearing about the experiences of enterprises planning smart cities in Viet Nam, Ambassador Osius said US enterprises would find out more about specific problems that came up during the process and develop solutions tailored to the country’s needs.

Some areas of the country had started planning and developing proposals to develop smart cities in recent years, Deputy Information Minister Hung said, including the capital city of Ha Noi, HCM City, the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Bac Ninh and central Thua Thien-Hue Province.

He asked Vietnamese agencies and enterprises to provide information for their US counterparts so that they can evaluate the readiness of the provinces for smart cities.

"The two countries need to identify terms and conditions for collaboration and propose co-operation mechanisms to maximize the technological capacity of the US and the potential to develop smart cities of Viet Nam," he said.

Developing smart cities has become a hot topic in Viet Nam and around the world in recent years. ‘Smart city’ refers to the integration of technologies and technological solutions in managing the cities.

Some issues hindering the development of smart cities in Viet Nam include traffic jams, environmental pollution, healthcare and food safety.

VNS