Hanoi leads with smart city dream

Hanoi has already issued an action plan in line with wider implementation of the new CPTPP in the country, Photo: Duc Thanh

This month, the city ­officially issued Action Plan No.66/KH-UBND for the ­implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). This made the capital the first to follow the prime minister’s Resolution No.121/QD-TTg on a plan to implement the CPTPP issued in January 2019.

Under Hanoi’s action plan, the city will focus on a number of key tasks over the coming period. These include the ­development of human ­resources and competitiveness, policies regarding trade union units in businesses, policies on social security, environmental protection, sustainable development, and raising people’s awareness of the CPTPP.

Specifically, the city will boost the application of IT to develop an e-government, thus enabling it to gradually develop into a smart city. In addition to IT, there will be development of hi-tech ­industrial parks and ­hi-tech agricultural zones.

The industrial sector of the capital city will also ­undergo restructuring and ­development towards ­focussing on in-depth ­manufacturing, promoting technology innovations, ­increasing labour productivity, and developing new

­industries with high levels of competitiveness.

These changes would serve to ­increase the added value and the competitiveness of Vietnam, therefore more deeply integrating the country into the global value chain.

Amid this landscape, ­foreign investment in hi-tech applications will be encouraged, especially into those with operating facilities in the Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park.

To facilitate businesses, Hanoi will be involved in the revision, supplementation, ­removal, and issuance of legal documents in alignment with commitments to the CPTPP. Among them are Labour Code 2012, the Law on Intellectual Property 2005, documents related to ­cosmetics imports, a decree on import-export tariffs in line with the CPTPP, and ­others.

In pursuing its ambitious smart-city goal, Hanoi has announced a list of industries to be prioritised for investment from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the US, the EU, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

It is hoped that ­increased levels of ­investment from these ­countries will enhance the transfer of technology in management during the smart city’s development, thus ­allowing for future high-­quality foreign direct ­investment (FDI).

With an action plan in place, the capital is likely to add to its attraction, thus ­enabling it to lure in between $10-15 billion worth of FDI during the 2018-2020 period which can help the city ­realise its socio-economic ­development goals for 2020.

Currently, Japan’s Sumitomo and Vietnam’s BRG Group are co-operating to develop a $4.2 billion smart city project in Hanoi. This mammoth project is expected to be a driving force for the city to welcome other new investments in the months to come.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s statistics, as of February 20, 2019, Hanoi ranked second among cities and provinces in Vietnam in terms of FDI attraction, with 5,219 projects registered with $33.21 billion, after Ho Chi Minh City (8,263 projects registered at $45 billion).