This will pave the way for shifting from paper certificate-based management (so do) to data-driven management integrated with VNeID, allowing citizens to conduct transparent public lookups.

On August 10, the National Data Association (NDA), in collaboration with the Vietnam Data Expert Network (VDEN), organized a seminar titled "Location Data Management - International Experience and Lessons for Vietnam."

Nguyen Hong Son, NDA Deputy Secretary General, said that, from a geographical perspective, the word location means a point or area on Earth's surface, but from a data perspective, behind a location may sit an individual, a land parcel, an enterprise, or a physical structure.

"When location data is standardized, identified, and interconnected, it becomes a hub linking numerous activities across the digital economy," Son said.

He explained that location data optimizes logistics operations, assists state management agencies in interconnecting population, land, housing, and public service databases, and provides precise data to enable artificial intelligence (AI) to understand and interact with the physical world.

"Location data is not merely a single category of data; it serves as a foundational infrastructure layer for the digital economy," Son emphasized.

Vietnam is entering a period of rapid data development supported by a progressively refined legal framework and the formation of multiple national databases.

However, according to Son, abundant data does not automatically create a data economy. Economic value emerges only when data is standardized, interconnected, and leveraged to create new products, services, and economic value.

Vietnam needs to build shared foundational data layers, with location data standing out as a crucial component.

Sharing Switzerland's experience, Dr. Luu Vinh Toan, an engineer at UBS Group, noted that Swiss address data consists of four elements: street name, house number, postal code, and city name.

Citizens and businesses must report any changes to address data. According to Dr. Toan, standardized data enables the creation of additional data layers, such as information on solar energy potential, water sources, and noise levels.

Citizens can access and view these data indicators. Switzerland treats address data as national digital infrastructure: data is updated locally but standardized at the national level.

Dr. Toan noted that this approach helps Switzerland avoid over-reliance on Big Tech corporations like Google.

Land parcel identification

At the seminar, Dinh Hong Phong from the Department of Land Management (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) noted that land parcels were historically identified using paper land certificates (so do, or red book).

This legacy approach creates difficulties when adjusting to a two-tier administrative management model due to the need to re-adjust land parcel data.

To address this, management authorities are drafting a land parcel identification plan similar to the VNeID citizen identification code system.

This identification code will operate independently of administrative boundaries and be encoded using location-based algorithms on digital platforms such as Google Maps starting in 2025.

The land parcel identification code will also be applied to digital address records, cadastral files, and electronic land certificates.

According to Phong, paper certificates in their current form will be phased out, helping prevent document forgery or the fraudulent practice of mortgaging a single land title paper multiple times across different institutions.

Land management will transition from paper-based records to digital data management. The goal is to complete this transition and integrate land data into the VNeID platform by the end of 2027.

Once implemented, citizens can look up land parcel information on VNeID transparently and publicly.

Major General Nguyen Ngoc Cuong, Director of the National Data Center (Ministry of Public Security) and Vice Chair of the National Data Association, noted that data is becoming a national development resource.

Land data must be interconnected with construction data, thus reducing administrative procedures for citizens while driving logistics and the digital economy.

Lieutenant Colonel Dao Duc Trieu, Secretary General of the National Data Association, emphasized that public demand for land data remains immense.

Data must be "correct, sufficient, clean, and live," capable of seamless interconnection and application in daily life, including logistics. 

And Vietnam needs to foster specialized data-processing enterprises to build tailored applications across various industries.

According to Nguyen Ngoc Que, Chief Technology Officer at Admicro, Vietnam possesses rich data resources and ample online data tools. However, data remains disconnected, un-synchronized, and unintegrated. In practice, map data still exhibits significant margin of error.

Consequently, verifying information on-site, identifying parcel owners, and standardizing data remain essential steps.

"To turn data into a new development resource, we must first make data capable of finding, understanding, and connecting with each other. Location data serves as one of the essential starting points on that journey," Son emphasized.

Thai Khang