Hanoi City promotes collaboration in digital transformation among departments, branches, units, and localities to embrace technological advancements

Many positive steps forward

According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Director of the Department of Information and Communications of Hanoi, engaged by many agencies and branches, digital transformation has achieved positive progress in all social and economic aspects. To date, the city's digital government is gradually deployed and digital infrastructure is promoted. Its digital transformation rankings and assessment indicators in 2022 got lifted up, with its Provincial Digital Transformation Index (DTI) ranked 24th out of 63 provinces and cities, up 16 places over 2021.

Fiber optic broadband network infrastructure has covered 100 communes, wards, towns and 93.15% of households in the city. The ratio of mobile broadband subscribers to population reached 121%. Mobile subscribers using smartphones to total mobile subscribers was 81.7%. Hanoi is one of the first provinces and cities to meet all requirements and successfully connect to the national population database for reception and settlement of administrative procedures.

In particular, Hanoi's digital economy is developing strongly, focusing mainly on e-commerce and non cash payments. According to the (unofficial) assessment of the Ministry of Information and Communications, in 2022, the city's digital economy to the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was 17.15% (ranked 8th among 63 provinces and cities). The Vietnam ICT Index Report, published in October 2023, showed that Hanoi ranked first in the overall ranking of the IT Industry Index. The city also continued to rank 2nd in the Vietnam E-commerce Index for seven consecutive years.

Many Market 4.0 models and cashless payment streets are gradually being formed. Non cash payments in electronic transactions reached 45%, with 96.67% of water bills and 99.9% of electricity bills settled with non cash forms. 

“The results achieved will be the foundation and basic motivation for Hanoi to move towards building a digital economy, digital government, digital society and smart city to better serve people, businesses and socioeconomic development needs," he emphasized.

Focus on digital infrastructure development

On September 27, 2023, Hanoi People's Committee launched Plan 239/KH-UBND on Hanoi digital transformation and smart city construction to 2025, with an orientation to 2030. With this plan, the city aims to complete 21 targets and 77 tasks for developing the digital economy and digital society by 2025.

By 2025, all administrative procedures meet all requirements for delivering full-process online public services and carry out all working activities on the network environment at all 3 levels.

The share of the digital economy to GRDP will be about 30%. Regarding digital society, 50% of the adult population will have a personal digital signature or electronic signature. Fiber optic broadband internet will cover 90% of households.

To accomplish this goal, the city is promoting digital transformation solutions. In particular, the city is strengthening state administration in the post and telecommunications industry, focusing on infrastructure development, especially digital infrastructure development, to ensure absolute network security and smooth communication.

In parallel with licensing postal operations for businesses, the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications is the first agency to create the business database and publicize that database on its electronic information portal. In 2023, the department also signed a coordination agreement with the Postal Department under the Ministry of Information and Communications on postal management in the city in 2023 - 2025, thus gradually boosting the development of the postal sector into an important foundation for the development of digital economy and digital society.

At the same time, Hanoi is actively directing and guiding telecom businesses to ensure smooth communication. In 2024, the department will implement digital infrastructure development tasks assigned by the City People's Committee as per Plan 174/KH-UBND dated July 27, 2021 and Plan 239/KH-UBND dated September 27, 2023.

Besides, the city will continue to maintain and ensure stable and smooth operation of the wide area network (WAN) and online communication system (deployed to all three levels of local government). Hanoi is also coordinating with businesses to focus on deploying free digital signatures for people at single-window divisions at all levels. To date, about 10,000 free digital signatures have been issued to citizens to perform public services online.

The city issued Hanoi Open Data List (Decision 3478/QD-UBND dated July 4, 2023). This specialized data will be shared within state agencies and with citizens.

In the coming time, the city will continue to focus on three key tasks: Building and perfecting digital databases and digital processes; developing platforms, digital systems, applications, digital services and non-cash payments; and completing, interconnecting and synchronizing the online public service system.

The city will promote and improve the performance of digital transformation groups; encourage and support enterprises and business households to implement digital transformation in production and business activities.

“Digital transformation is a regular and continuous process. Hanoi is determined to accelerate digital transformation in all fields, realize the goal of becoming one of Top 5 localities in the country in digital transformation and e-government construction by 2025, contribute to modern, sustainable socioeconomic development and act as a center of development of the nation," he stated.