Phu Quoc special zone advances toward smart urban centre
To serve both the two-tier local government operations and the APEC 2027 Leaders’ Week, An Giang is implementing a major tech infrastructure project on Phu Quoc Island, with a total investment of 500 billion VND (19.1 million USD).
A view of a modern urban area in southern Phu Quoc Island, An Giang province. (Photo: VNA)
An Giang (VNA) - Phu Quoc, the "Pearl Island" ☂of southern An Giang province and Vietnam, is ramping up key technology-driven initiatives aimed at transforming into a smart, world-class maritime urban centre.
These efforts are designed to enhance State governance, ensure public security and quality of life for residents, while supporting preparations for the 2027 APEC Leaders’ Week and other major national and international events.
To serve both the two-tier local government operations and the APEC 2027 Leaders’ Week, the province is implementing a major tech infrastructure project on Phu Quoc Island, with a total investment of 500 billion VND (19.1 million USD). Scheduled to run from May 2025 to June 2027, the project includes the establishment of a provincial data centre, monitoring hub, surveillance camera network, and environmental monitoring equipment.
Nguyen Xuan Kiem, Deputy Director of the An Giang Department of Science and Technology, said the department has issued guidelines for project implementation and contractor selection across all nine procurement packages, applying simplified direct appointment procedures. Three capable contractors have been selected for four of the packages, while the remaining five are still undergoing selection to ensure the project stays on track.
Currently, the digital infrastructure and IT applications supporting Phu Quoc’s two-tier local administration model are operating smoothly. The island is equipped with a 400 Mbps internet connection and a dedicated 6 Mbps data transmission line for accessing shared applications. The Public Administration Centre is well-equipped to meet operational demands.
Construction site of the APEC 2027 Summit Convention Centre Project and auxiliary facilities. (Photo: VNA)
Phu Quoc's development vision is to become a “distinctive maritime urban centre and international-class economic, commercial, and marine eco-tourism hub,” playing a strategic role in regional and global economic connectivity. To achieve this, the island is aligning its urban management with principles of smart growth, energy efficiency, climate resilience, and national security, with the ultimate goal of realising sustainable development and green growth.
Upon completion, the technology project will serve as a Smart Operations Centre, the digital “nerve centre” of Phu Quoc, integrating comprehensive management across vital areas such as urban planning, construction, land use, environment, forestry, transport, tourism, and public security.
Kiem emphasised that this project will boost provincial governance capacity, provide strategic development direction, enhance data analysis and early warning systems, ensure public safety, and promote sustainable and green development. It lays the groundwork for a truly comprehensive smart urban centre.
Through strategic investments in technology and digitalisation, Phu Quoc is steadily realising its vision of becoming an international-standard economic and tourism centre, offering improved quality of life for residents, businesses, and visitors alike./.
Phu Quoc surpassed Hoi An, a longtime top draw for international visitors, to get into the top five most-searched destinations in Vietnam during the first half of 2025.
Phu Quoc has become a massive construction site, with 21 projects serving APEC 2027 assigned by the Government, totalling an investment of 137.13 trillion VND (5.25 billion USD).
With its impressive growth rate and a steadily maturing tourism, resort, and conference infrastructure, the vision of Phu Quoc as an international luxury tourism hub is within reach. The expansion of air routes, the growing presence of global brands, and the increasingly diverse flow of visitors from Asia to Europe are clear indicators for a bright future.
The Deputy PM applauded the task force’s preparation, stressing that smart urban development is not a choice but an inevitable trend for countries aiming for sustainable growth, improving the quality of life for people, and strengthening urban governance and operation.
Public-private partnerships are expected to create positive synergy, while also placing greater responsibility on private investors in managing and developing projects. This approach helps ensure the effective use of public funds to advance science and technology, foster innovation, and drive digital transformation.
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The centre will initially operate at a capacity of 30MW and is expected to scale up to 120MW, serving the huge computing needs for AI development and the digital economy sector of the city.
Across the city’s coastal communities, local authorities are adopting specialised digital applications to manage fishing vessels, monitor catch data, and support traceability efforts.
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Showcased technologies include AI, IoT, Big Data, drones, robotics, Holobox, and sector-specific solutions such as EdTech, AgriTech, FinTech, and cybersecurity. A dedicated zone for startups also forms part of the exhibition.
According to the Law on Digital Technology Industry, the incentives include full corporate income tax exemption for the first two years and 50 % reduction in the four following years, as well as land rent waivers for three years.
Kenneth Tse, General Director of Intel Vietnam, noted that in nearly 20 years of operations in the country, Intel Vietnam has exported over 4 billion products, contributing more than 100 billion USD to Vietnam’s export revenue.
The fund plans to assist Can Tho through a comprehensive set of initiatives such as the “Digital Transformation for All” programme to promote digital literacy; AI training for public officials and businesses; startup incubation and co-investment; and financial support for AI research and innovation. Additional support includes providing free working spaces for AI developers and formulating a region-specific AI strategy.
Amid growing global demand, fragile supply chains and intensifying geopolitical conflicts, Vietnam is rapidly emerging as one of the most promising players in the global semiconductor landscape, a seminar heard in Ho Chi Minh City on July 2.
Key areas eligible for PPPs include high and strategic technologies; infrastructure for the research, development, and application of high and strategic technologies; and digital infrastructure supporting the digital economy, digital society, and digital government.
During the visit, the parties exchanged ideas on high-tech material solutions and technologies that could be applied to national strategic transport infrastructure projects, particularly the North–South high-speed railway project.
CATI-VLM is an AI model for document reading that has already claimed a spot among the world’s elite, ranking first in Vietnam and among the top 12 globally in the Document Visual Question Answering (DocVQA) category of the Robust Reading Competition (RRC) in June 2025.
General Secretary Lam also emphasised the need to immediately issue policies to attract and retain high-level domestic and overseas talents, particularly in critical fields like AI, semiconductors, and advanced materials.
In addition, the decree encourages the development of research centres focused on data science and innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, blockchain, data communications, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and other advanced technologies in order to build, develop, protect, manage, process, and utilise data effectively.
