HCM City (VNA) - Thedifficulties involved in developing smart cities and possible solutions were onthe agenda of a conference on “GeneralSolutions for Smart City” (Smart City 360 Degrees) held in HCM City on September19.

Speaking at the opening, Prof DrNguyen Ky Phung, deputy director of the city’s Department of Science andTechnology, said in general a smart city is a city that uses information andcommunication technology to enhance quality, performance and interactivity ofurban services, reduce cost and resource consumption, improve contact betweencitizens and the government and ensure sustainable development.

In the technology-driven trend ofconnectivity and interaction, many technologies of Industry 4.0 have become thecore technologies for a smart city, Phung, who is also director of theInstitute for Computational Science and Technology, said.

The need to use automated andhuman- interactive devices in management (such as security, energy,transportation, and others) and social security (such as healthcare andeducation) is also growing rapidly, he said.

HCM City has drafted a masterplan for turning into a smart city in 2017-20 period and is seekingcontributions and feedback from experts and scientists, he said.

Le Quoc Cuong, deputy director ofthe city’s Department of Information and Communications, said building a smartcity and the city’s seven breakthrough programmes aim to meet four basic goals:ensure economic growth; improve the quality of living and working; efficienturban management based on forecasts; and enhance public participation in urbanmanagement.

A lack of a common database fordepartments and agencies to share information is among the hurdles to make HCMCity a smart city, he said.

Therefore, the city would focuson e-governance and connecting and sharing information and data amongdepartments to improve management efficiency in various sectors, he said.

The database would containinformation about socio-economic development policies that can be accessed bybusinesses, citizens and investors.

The city also plans to enhanceinteraction between the government, the public and public service providers,create a level playing field for all companies and improve competitiveness andattract more investment, he said.

Phung said, there is a differencebetween smart and modern cities, he said, pointing out that developed countrieslike the US, France and the UK have good infrastructure and so are moderncities.

A smart city requires the use ofICT to serve the Government, public and businesses, he explained.

Dr Nguyen Trong of the HCM CityComputer Association said five things are needed to build a smart city:defining the basic information the public needs to be provided, creatingtechnologies and the requisite social environment, building common databases,creating a mechanism for getting and analysing information and enabling easyaccess to technical infrastructure and information services for everyone.

Dr Doan Xuan Huy Minh of theInstitute for Computational Science and Technology (ICST) said a smart city isa relatively new field in Vietnam, and so many issues need to be studied andresolved.

Delegates called for creatingclose linkages between the Government, businesses and science and technologyprofessionals for creating the smart city.

At the event, Da Nang shared itsexperience in implementing e-governance and taking the initial steps for turninginto a smart city.

Held by the ICST in collaborationwith the HCM City Computer Association and PC World Vietnam magazine, theconference brought together Government agencies in HCM City and other citiesand provinces, institutes and universities, businesses and others.-VNA