Da Nang (VNS/VNA) - Da Nang is planning to become a ‘smart city’ andthe first in Vietnam to join the ASEAN ‘smart’ city network by 2030.

Director of the city’s IT Department Nguyen Quang Thanh said at the launch ofthe city’s plan towards 2030 with a vision to 2045 on April 11 that it would bebuilt in three phases with total investment of 2.14 trillion VND (95 millionUSD), of which 30 percent would come from the State budget.

Thanh said the city had approved the framework the plan in 2018 withinformation and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and database.

It will include smart management, smart economy, smart environment, smartliving, smart citizens and smart traffic to connect the city to the 126 ASEAN‘smart city’ network, Thanh said.

“The plan will help develop Da Nang as a ‘start-up and innovative’ city increating a driving force for socio-economic growth for the central region of Vietnam.”

Da Nang was the first city in Vietnam to launch an e-Government system in 2014,and transferred the system to 16 cities and provinces in 2016.

According to a report, Da Nang’s e-Government system had been used by 225agencies and 4,000 users.

Da Nang had provided 1,200 online administration procedures, including one-stopshops, residential management, public transport and water supervision throughthe e-Government system, while free wireless internet services offer a maximumof 20,000 connections in public places, according to the city’s information andcommunications department.

Thanh also said the plan would raise funds from partners including the VietnamPosts and Telecommunications (VNPT) Group; Software giant FPT, Viettel Group,the World Bank, Vietinbank and KOICA and other ODA.

Nguyen Thanh Phuc from Ministry of Information and Communications said the planwould save 1 trillion VND (44.2 million USD) and 20 percent of other costs forhuman resources in the city.

Phuc said the plan would also help promote transparency, while improvingadministrative reform.

He said residents would have easy access to clear information on land,administrative procedure, planning, social services, disaster warnings,healthcare and education online.

The city’s IT infrastructure was available for smart connections for aircontrol, water, garbage, meteorology and energy agencies. It could also provideearthquake and tsunami warnings, and data on flooding, erosion, sewagemanagement and food safety.

Last year, Da Nang’s information technology and communications industry earned 1.23billion USD in revenue, of which 68 percent was from the IT and electronicsmanufacturing sectors, contributing 5.5 percent to Da Nang’s Gross RegionalDomestic Product (GRDP).

The city’s software exports grew in 2018 to 78 million USD.

There were 3,000 IT businesses with 25,000 jobs, of which 43 percent were insoftware services and IT outsourcing.

According to the department, Japan and the US were seen as the two key marketsfor Da Nang’s software exports, accounting for 72 percent of export turnover in2018.

The city has launched the first stage of the 341ha Da Nang InformationTechnology Park (DITP) – central Vietnam’s ‘Silicon Valley’ - with totalinvestment of 278 million USD.

The park will create revenue of 1.5 billion USD each year with 25,000 jobs anda satellite city of 100,000 people.

Da Nang’s software park has been recognised as a centralised informationtechnology centre, the third in Vietnam after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. – VNS/VNA