Ho Chi Minh City calls for investors for two smart city projects

Dozens of domestic and international investors attended the conference held on September 15 to call for investment in Ho Chi Minh City Smart City Operations Centre and Socioeconomic Simulation and Forecast Centre.

Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan calling on domestic and international investors. Photo: Le Toan

According to Martin Yates, chief technology officer at National Information and Communications from Dell EMC, a smarter digital edge and e-government ICT solutions need to be created in harmony in order to build smart cities.

“Our aim is to build a smart city which is safe, resilient, and enjoyable for people, families, creates jobs, and brings economic success,” Yates said at the conference.

He added that the implementation of the City Integrated Operations Centre will include different key functions which must be closely linked and integrated with each other, such as smart mobility, e-government, and smart environment and utility management.

“Successful smart cities have database protection strategies and share public data with others, from emergency response, power and water supply, and transportation to public facilities, public security, and environment stakeholders,” he added.

“Ho Chi Minh City must set up a 10-20-year plan to design, plan, deploy, and operate smart cities,” he added.

Investors showed avid interest during the conference. Photo: Le Toan

Meanwhile, Jeff Winbourne, CEO of Winbourne Consulting, building an Integrated Emergency Communications System (IECS) in Ho Chi Minh City would need an initial investment capital of around $110 million.

The investment capital for this project, according to Winbourne, can be sourced from the city’s budget and mobilised from the private sector.

He added that Vietnam already has an institute which is suitable for this type of investment. This is the Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment State Owned Company.

Other potential investors for IECS and smart city projects are banks, investment funds, and pension funds.

The two above-mentioned projects form the foundation for the city to develop into a smart city.

Specifically, the Smart City Operation Centre will be the place to synthesise important information and data of the urban area, equipped with advanced technologies to expand and develop in the future.

In particular, the city will adopts open technology standards, enabling the integration of additional management features and support city leaders in their decision making process.

Between 2018 and 2020, the Socioeconomic Simulation and Forecast Centre will analyse mid- to long-term socioeconomic trends. From 2021 onwards, the Centre will expand to simulate the development of all areas of the Smart City Development Plan of Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking at the conference, Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan called on both domestic and international investors and experts to co-develop these two centres and turn Ho Chi Minh City into a smart city.

Nhan set the target that the general structural framework of these two centres must be finished before 2019. From 2020 onwards, these two centres will be piloted in District 1, 12, and Thu Thiem New Urban Area and expanded to other districts of the city later on.