VietNamNet Bridge – Some major cities in Vietnam have taken initial steps towards a smart city model and Japan’s experiences, especially in infrastructure development, are of great help for them, experts said at the Asia Smart City Summit 2015 in HCMC on July 22.

Illustrative image -- File photo

According to Nguyen Hong Tien, director of the Technical Infrastructure Agency under the Ministry of Construction, some localities in Vietnam have worked towards the application of information technology (IT) in urban management. For instance, IT has been applied to State management activities and public services in Danang, infrastructure management in Hanoi, and HCMC also wants to use IT for smart city management.

Smart city is a global development trend and Vietnam is gradually investing in infrastructure and urban management based on the smart city model.

Huynh Van Thanh, deputy director of Danang City’s Department of Planning and Investment, said the city is implementing a cooperation program with Yokoyama City and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to learn their lessons of urban development and management.

Meanwhile, Mai Huu Tin, chairman of Binh Duong Province-based Uni Group, said Japanese investors are contributing to the province’s application of the smart city model by investing around US$1 billion to turn Binh Duong New City into a smart city.

Yuri Furusawa at the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said to develop smart cities, Japan has had to cope with problems like traffic congestion, a shortage of housing and environmental pollution.

According to Furusawa, Japan has to deal with such problems in different stages of economic development. For transport networks in major cities in Japan, urban railways play a central role. Buildings, shopping malls and stores have been moved out of city centers to ease traffic congestion and facilitate transportation.

Regarding cooperation opportunities between the two countries in agriculture, Vu Kim Hanh, director of the Center for Business Studies and Assistance (BSA), said the application of high technologies in the domestic agricultural sector would be an effective solution. Vietnam’s agriculture is lacking post-harvest technologies and production management.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, investments of private enterprises in agriculture picked up 1.9 times in 2013 compared to 2009. Besides, the number of investors in the sector rose from 2,397 in 2007 to 3,635 in 2013, up 13.8% annually.